McDonald falls short in Taoiseach bid

Mary Lou McDonald’s bid to become the fourth Taoiseach from the Northside and the first female Taoiseach fell short.

The first meeting of the new Dáil saw the Sinn Féin leader fail to receive the necessary number of votes to became Taoiseach after her party backed her.

McDonald received 44 votes in favour, 110 against and 14 absentations.

In 2020, she received 45 votes in favour, 84 against, and 29 absentations.

Prior to the vote, it was widely expected to fail as it did not have a simple Dáil majority but McDonald receiving fewer votes for Taoiseach compared to 2020 is an indication of Sinn Féin’s strained relationships with potential coalition partners.

Notably, Labour voted against McDonald’s Taoiseach bid while the Social Democrats abstained, meaning that a proposed left-wing opposition bloc against the new Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Independents coalition is already off to an inauspicious start.

With Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit/Solidarity and a smattering of left-leaning independents in the Dáil bringing the left’s numbers in the Dáil to nearly 70, McDonald only amassing 44 votes will be cause for concern for the party as it prepares for another stint in opposition.

In 2020, Labour simply abstained on McDonald’s nomination for Taoiseach, and voted against her in 2024.

The Social Democrats abstained on McDonald’s nomination as they did in 2020.

Re-elected Dublin West TD Ruth Coppinger abstained on the vote, citing Sinn Féin’s “drift to the right.”

The Solidarity TD said “they (Sinn Féin) are turning their backs on vulnerable groups like trans young people and denying them healthcare, and on refugees. This makes it very difficult to give them a free pass.”

“I want to make the point that I will be abstaining on that nomination simply because we do not have a real prospect of an alternative government.”

Making her case, McDonald said “the election is over but our determination to deliver remains and it is for that reason my party, Sinn Féin, nominated me as Taoiseach today.”

“Hundreds of thousands of people voted for real progress and a better future. They voted for Sinn Féin, but not just for us – for other parties, too, who join us in a belief that politics must change and that we need a new Government. Those votes count. Those votes matter. They are the votes of working class communities, of working people, of families and of so, so many young people.”

“They voted for a Government that is on their side and has their backs and they are now disappointed. Some are angry that the same old two will hold on to power again,” she said.

McDonald stated “government is rightly judged on action, delivery and results,” to which Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe replied “and votes.”

McDonald volleyed back with “be aware; be very aware that you will be judged,” to which McAuliffe replied, “we were judged.”

She said “I know there is disappointment among a significant portion of the population. It is likely that we will not have the new government and new approach that is so desperately needed. That is politics. That is elections,” to which presumptive Taoiseach Micheál Martin remarked, “that is democracy.”

Martin said that McDonald’s vote was “cynical.”

“One of the things that most encourages cynicism about politics is when our time is wasted on empty gestures and grandstanding. There is no better way to describe the decision by Sinn Féin to propose its leader for the position of Taoiseach today.”

“I think we all know that no one has the support yet to be elected as Taoiseach today. There is no new government available yet. Not one deputy will change his or her mind based on a vote being called today. After the previous election, Sinn Féin argued that the party that had received the largest vote should lead the Government. That was the position after 2020, so if the party were being consistent, it would be in the process of nominating me today.”

The other major Northside TD to re-take their place in the Dáil before Christmas was Green leader Roderic O’Gorman, the sole survivor of the party’s electoral wipeout.

The Dublin West TD said, “political capital is a strangely intangible thing; it is not something that can be saved up, it does not accumulate interest, and it does not only grow in size; it is fleeting, can depreciate and can disappear.”

“In 2020, my party had political capital and we spent it over the next four and a half years. The election outcome was hard for us but not for one second do I or any other former member of our parliamentary party regret our participation in government. “

O’Gorman said that Ireland “needs progressive leadership” and encouraged Labour and the Social Democrats to build a common progressive consensus over the term of the next Dáil.

“We are at a crossroads; the new government could continue to have a strong progressive element and advocate climate action, strong public services and a humane approach to migration or it could have a fundamentally more conservative approach.”

“While the outcome of the vote for Ceann Comhairle indicates that, right now, one element is in the ascendant, nothing is decided until the Taoiseach is elected. Our country needs progressive leadership right now. I urge the parties to grasp this opportunity while they have it because there is absolutely no guarantee that the same opportunity will be around in five years’ time.”