Sinn Féin will not nominate a candidate for Taoiseach

SINN FÉIN will not nominate a candidate for Taoiseach on Wednesday, An Phoblacht can reveal. A senior Sinn Féin source says the party will not play along with what it describes as a “charade”.

Sinn Féin also told An Phoblacht that the party will oppose the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil nominations for the position of An Taoiseach and has accused the two main right-wing parties of wanting to continue to control both the Government and Opposition.

A caretaker Government has been in place since the General Election on 26 February which produced no definitive result and saw the combined support of the two long-dominant parties of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael drop below 50% for the first time.

In March, Sinn Féin put forward Gerry Adams for the position of Taoiseach. None of the four nominees on that occasion secured enough support in the Dáil.

“There has been a seismic shift in Irish politics and Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil need to get their heads around that,” Gerry Adams said on Tuesday. 

“If they cannot facilitate or be part of a new government, then clearly another election is the only option. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil need to accept that this is a likely consequence of their protracted play action.”

On Wednesday, Fine Gael are expected to nominate Enda Kenny again for Taoiseach, while Fianna Fáil will nominate Mícheál Martin and the AAA/PBP will put forward Ruth Coppinger.