Fianna Fáil has been sounding out potential candidates for the presidency, but the party will not necessarily nominate anyone to run in the forthcoming election, the Taoiseach has said.
During a visit to Japan, Micheál Martin said he had no preference about whether his party should have its own candidate to run in the election, which must take place 60 days before the current presidential term ends on November 11th.
Former Fianna Fáil minister Mary Hanafin said this week that she was seeking the party’s nomination.
Mr Martin told The Irish Times: “We are sounding out people and looking at the situation – of course we are.
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“I don’t think it belongs to any political party any more. And the idea that a political party somehow has its own entitlement to it, I think, is no longer the case.
“But, nonetheless, political parties have a role. They have a clear role in a nomination of a candidate, for example.
“And the identification of a candidate has to be on the basis that a candidate would command a very broad consensus or would have a realistic opportunity of getting a significant vote. These are subjective judgments.”
[ Kathy Sheridan: So far nobody wants the Presidency and its quarter-of-a-million euro salary. Why? ]
Fianna Fáil has not had a candidate for the presidency for almost 30 years.
Mary McAleese was its candidate in 1997 and served two seven-year terms in office.
The party decided not to run a candidate in 2011 and supported the incumbent Michael D Higgins when he sought a second term in 2018.
Ms Hanafin, a former minister for education, has said she would be open to having a conversation with Fianna Fáil about seeking a nomination to run in the election.
Other Fianna Fáil politicians have been mentioned as possible candidates for the presidential election including former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who has not ruled himself out of contention.
The favourite to take the Fine Gael nomination is former European commissioner Mairead McGuinness, though she has not confirmed she will run.
Seán Kelly, the Fine Gael MEP and former GAA president, has not ruled himself of the race and suggested that the party should have a contest for the nomination.
Sinn Féin has yet to decide whether it will put forward a candidate for the party. The North’s First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, has not ruled herself out of contention.
Former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has said he has been interested in contesting the position, but it is not yet clear how he would get a nomination.
