McWilliams rules out standing in general election

JOURNALIST AND economist David McWilliams has again ruled out standing in the general election.

JOURNALIST AND economist David McWilliams has again ruled out standing in the general election.

McWilliams, in a post on his website, acknowledged yesterday that there had been speculation about his candidacy in the election. He then added: "Thanks for all the support, messages, comments and enthusiasm but I am not a politician, unfortunately."

He has also revealed that Fine Gael and Labour had made separate approaches for him to stand in the general election in Dublin but he had rejected both overtures.

McWilliams told the Ray D’Arcy Show on Today FM that neither party’s policies were urgent enough to tackle the unemployment problem.

He said he would make a “really bad politician” because politicians in Ireland had to be “fixers” in their constituencies. Because of the way the Dáil was run, they ended up letting down the people who wanted things fixed and the people who were looking for “the big ideas”.

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Paul Cullen

Paul Cullen

Paul Cullen is a former heath editor of The Irish Times.