Michael D Higgins to decide in autumn on bid for presidency

THE LABOUR Party’s Michael D Higgins has confirmed that he is considering a bid for the presidency.

Mr Higgins (69), a TD for Galway West and a former minister for arts, culture and the Gaeltacht, told The Irish Timesthat he was "giving it consideration" and has "talked to a number of people about it" and would announce his decision "in the autumn".

He joins a growing list of public figures – including Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly and Independent Senator David Norris – who have signalled an interest in succeeding President Mary McAleese.

Mr Higgins was speaking in Kilkenny where he addressed the annual Tom Johnson summer school organised by Labour Youth. The annual event is held to honour the memory of Mr Johnson, a leading figure in the Irish labour movement during the early 20th century.

Mr Higgins received a standing ovation from delegates following an impassioned speech in which he called for a “new republic”, led by Labour, with “a politics of solidarity which restores community”.

He accused the Government of “turning a recession into a depression” and said its “failure to initiate a strategy for employment protection and creation is condemning individuals and families to poverty and exclusion”.

He said: “There are still people in both the major parties who have a tear in their eye when they hear about the repossession of the art collection on Ailesbury Road.”

Asked later to explain the remark, he said: “The dramatic impact of the collapse of the property bubble on individuals has sometimes drawn more sympathetic sounds from people in the bigger parties than the impact of the cuts in services on some of the poorest people in the country.”

Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said Mr Higgins had not yet spoken to him about the matter but that the party’s executive “has discussed the presidential election” and intended to field a candidate.

“There would have to be a selection process” and the executive would be “returning to [the subject] in the autumn”, he added.