Mary Lou on course for Europe

BY JOANNE CORCORAN

Mary Lou is the name on everybody's lips in Dublin this month. Even people who have had their heads in the sand for the last year and were unaware that Sinn Féin was running Mary Lou McDonald for the EU elections can't have failed to notice the thousands of colourful, eye-catching posters which now adorn practically every lamp-post in the city.

She's been on current affairs programmes on radio and television, she's in the papers almost every day, and she's at debates all over the country. Mary Lou has proven that she can answer any question, argue any point, and win the hearts of Dubliners while doing so. Ask anyone and they'll tell you — things are looking good for the Sinn Féin woman with the nice smile and the red jacket.

On Tuesday I met Mary Lou to discuss how the campaign was going. She looked tired, and told me she didn't have much on in the afternoon and was looking forward to some rest. Not much on — just an interview or two, answering a few hundred phone calls, replying to e-mails. I asked her what her average busy day consisted of.

"Sometimes we start as early as 7:30am and often go until 11 at night," she replied. "Not every day is like that, you just couldn't sustain it. But it's busy — we've been out and about meeting community groups, canvassing, tying in with local candidates. Then I'm on and off our Battle Bus around the city. We meet the media and NGOs. But as you know, I have an eleven-month-old baby, so I have to make sure that every day I get a couple of hours at home, and most days I manage that."

The infamous Battle Bus. I asked her how it was being received around the city, and were the rumours true — was it fitted with champagne on ice and reclining seats?

"Oh yeah," she replied laughing. "It's very rock and roll. No, it's unique, and it's very visible. We're getting a great reaction to it and the public seem to really like the idea. I think it's a good way of advertising the campaign. We can't afford billboards and all that jazz, so this is our way of profiling the campaign and just putting it into people's heads that there actually is a European election approaching."

Issues of concern

Was she finding that a problem, I enquired, people not knowing there was an election on?

"It would be fair to say that people aren't completely tuned into European issues on the doorsteps, though most people are beginning to realise June 11 is the big day," she answered. "However, there are key things they are concerned about, for instance, people have asked me about Irish neutrality, about the use of the Shannon as a stop-over for the war in Iraq, believe it or not they come up.

Some people know that there is a thing called the European Constitution. They don't know exactly what it is or what's in it, but they know that there is another treaty coming down the line, and they want to know what it's about. But mainly, people want to talk to me about their day-to-day concerns - housing, health, not feeling secure in their own city. Europe seems a long way away to those people."

Demanding change

I wondered if that meant people were less likely to turn out and vote.

"One of the problems that we have in areas where we are well organised is that we suffer from low voter turnout," she told me. "I'm on the doors and people from all across the city are telling me that they want change. That's the consistent message that we're getting, and we're very clearly saying back to people that if they want change, they actually have to facilitate it. They have to demand it, and they can do that by coming out and voting for Sinn Féin in the local and European elections."

The rivals

I was curious to know how the other EU candidates in Dublin were dealing with this straight-talking, no-nonsense woman.

"Well, on a personal level, because we keep meeting each other at different things, relations are very cordial," she said. "Sinn Féin is setting out its stall. We're presenting our politics, we make no apologies for it. There's never a tension on a personal level, but that doesn't mean they're not going to come out and attack you.

"What scares them is the fact that Sinn Féin has a very distinctive line on Europe, and it's one that's very much in tune with people's feelings on the ground. The message we're sending out is about an equal Europe, that respects the independence of member states. It's about global justice, social justice, and a Europe that respects Irish neutrality. Those are the things that are very popular on the ground, and the other political parties know that. I suppose the difference with us is we come out and we're very upfront and frank about how we'd like to see Europe develop. The other parties aren't."

Staying in touch

I asked her if she was elected, what was she expecting from her work in the European Parliament — was it to be more long hours, or was she off the hook?

"Well, there is an element of travel involved. You have to spend a certain amount of time in Strasbourg and in Brussels, but the trend to date has been that people are elected to Europe and they disappear for five years. I mean, that's no good to anybody. My clear sense of the role of an MEP is to represent the constituency and also the country. But in order to do that in a way that is real and effective, I have to be in touch with the constituency.

"In addition to that, the parliament sits every month and there's committee work, so there are obviously massive demands to be met."

I wanted to know what would be first on the agenda if she were to be elected.

"One of the first things in the event of the party electing an MEP, is deciding which political grouping we'll join, and there's some work being done on that," she said "Obviously on arrival we'd have to sort out the practicalities, like where we'd stay and so on. There's an issue in getting to know the building, how the whole thing works. It's a huge learning curve. But it's like when any Sinn Féin activist went into any institution for the first time. The main thing is that we don't get lost in the system and become victims of bureaucracy."

Good chance

My final question was an obvious one — did she think she'd get elected.

"I think our chances are very good," she replied honestly. "We've had so many people coming up to us in the street and wishing us well. It's an amazing thing. The other parties are playing games around the peace process, and launching these hysterical attacks on us. But the people on the ground are canny, they see it as a political ploy.

"They recognise that Sinn Féin works hard on the ground, they know we deliver, they know we're hard working and we're capable and committed. We're in contention for a seat, if we do our work and remain focused, if we convince people of the importance of coming out to vote.

"And I say we, because I said from day one that no individual would win this seat for Sinn Féin. I'm not going to win it, Sinn Féin will win the seat."