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SINN FÉIN LEADER Mary Lou McDonald is urging voters who want a change of government to vote for her party in the upcoming general election – but has stressed that she is willing to speak with any other group to form a coalition.
Though insisting that Sinn Féin’s main priority was to win the election, McDonald believes she would be “insulting” the public if she were to rule out speaking to any party after the election.
The party leader was speaking to media outside government buildings in Dublin shortly after Taoiseach Simon Harris called a general election for 29 November. McDonald said her party was ready and were seeking to oust the incumbent government.
“We face into this campaign with spirit, with confidence and with a clear message: After 100 years of Fianna-Fáil-and-Fine-Gael-led governments, vote Sinn Fein to change the government,” she said.
"If Sinn Féin wins, you win"
— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) November 8, 2024
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald appeals to the public to vote for her party in the general election #GE2024 pic.twitter.com/J0S5aq5ORq
While a coalition between Sinn Féin and Fine Gael is seen as politically impractical, there are some suggestions the leading opposition party could form a government with Fianna Fáil over its similar social stances and positions on a united Ireland.
However, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin today categorically ruled out a coalition with Sinn Féin over its economic policy proposals – claiming that the party ‘don’t get’ Ireland’s economic model.
McDonald said that the “ideal” outcome for Sinn Féin would be that all of its 71 candidates get elected and that a government is formed without Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
When challenged on whether that meant she was ruling out a coalition with either party, McDonald insisted that she was “willing to speak with everyone” about forming a government after the election.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil similarly ruled out forming a coalition with Sinn Féin before the previous election in 2020. Today, McDonald said she found that was “insulting” to the public.
“I remember after the last election, people were turning up their noses and saying they wouldn’t speak [to us],” McDonald said. “Apparently, we weren’t good enough, according to them, for people to come and talk to us.
“That landed really badly with the hundreds of thousands of people who voted for Sinn Féin – so I’m not going to insult the citizens and voters by taking a position like that.”
Sinn Féin has been in deep controversy in recent weeks following a number of crisis which were revealed either by the party or the media after months of the party underperforming the polls.
The party has also lost a strong portion of its base in working class communities as voters either disagreed or were detached from its stances on immigration, the economy and the Family and Care referendums earlier this year.
McDonald said she believed that voting for Sinn Féin was the “best chance, in fact I believe, [the] only chance” for voters from working class communities, who may be facing homelessness or contemplating emigrating, to change their situations.
“Did we, at times, make mistakes along the way? Yes, we did – and we got called out on that, as you know, by our by our working class space and that’s fair enough.”
Asked what McDonald would view as a particular mistake, she said it was her party supporting a YesYes vote in the most recent referendums.
She added: “In our case, lessons were learned. We work extremely hard for our communities. Sinn Féin is your option if you want to change the government.
“And the big issue for working people and communities is, can you afford another five years of a Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil-led government? I would say – very strongly – regular people, working class communities, all communities and young people simply can’t.”
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I’ll just Google how to bake bread.
@David Dickson: Irishtimes have a good article
@David Dickson: I already did this and now Google how to make flour.
@cortisola: how to lay an egg
My baking soda is best before 12/1982.
Should be grand but this hatching is tiresome.
@David Dickson: What came first David Dickson or the Egg?
That is the question!!
Is there anything else happening in the world the journal can report on? Most of us are stuck at home bored and we know it’s cold, there’s no transport and people have been stock piling bread. Surely there’s a Trump/Hicks story or it’s the Russians what done it that could get an argument going
@Anne Marie Devlin: Watch a movie, I recommend “cold skin”, lots of similarly bad weather. Snow, wind, isolation with a bit of fantasy thrown in for good measure.
@Anne Marie Devlin: I anticipate this new article 9 months from now. “Ireland sees population boom as number of births increase.” Lol
We need metro underground – maybe it won’t be that easy to disrupt by our common natural disasters?
@cortisola: metro in Rome closed due to snow. They’re not impervious to the weather.
@cortisola: Common? How often does this happen?
@cortisola: For sure. That’s the justification to spend the excessive budget right there. A blizzard of magnitudes not seen since 1982.
@cortisola: The Phoenix Park tunnel wasn’t even open this morning, don’t have much hope for them maintaining a metro.
@Ala Alowska: knew you’d be too stupid to get it!
@Paddy Reid: Metro in Strabane still operating. Lifford bus stalled at the Camel’s Hump.
@Neal Ireland Hello.: I wont be surprised to hear Irish pubs in Sydney closed due to blizzard in Dublin…
@Paddy Reid: New York subway closes due to snow. Obviously not the underground portion but the majority of the network that’s overground does.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Snowstorm-Blizzard-Thursday-NYC-Tri-State-Mass-Transit-Subway-LIRR-Metro-North-NJ-Transit-NY-NJ-467921183.html
Anyway Metro is coming…….
@joe: I lived in New York for 2 years and that happened once when I was there and there was a hell of a lot more snow.
@Seamus McGillicuddy: It happened in January this year also as per that article. How do you know there was more snow. It hasn’t even come yet!
Luas,DART and trains running yesterday and this morning. They have stopped as a coordinated effort to keep people safe. I’m sure they could keep running if requested to.
They closed schools expecting 4-6 inches of snow. We are expecting 7.5- 15 inches!
And the taxis keep rolling untill every one is home safe, while the buses just jump ship. They should of kept going until 3:30 4. No buses in Galway all day.
@brendan H: taxi can be controlled a bit easier than a bus if it hits a dodgy patch of snow/ice. Also, less risk of injury in a taxi than a bus full of people… Use your head Brendan.
@Alan Madden:city Buses are all on cleared gritted roadways, there was no ice or snow in Galway city at at even 6pm. USE Your Head and read comments carefully.
Eh my flight is getting to Dublin airport tomorrow at 2pm, it’s not cancelled or anything. So how will I get from the airport. Now this is quite interesting
@Krystian Brzezowski: not as interesting as if you try to walk.
@Krystian Brzezowski: roads at the moment are perfect in Dublin. If planes can’t get out of Dublin, don’t know how you’ll get in
Thank Chroissssst. Hopefully, that will keep Bono out for a day or two. I’d rather have a plague of locusts.
Dublin airport are all flights from 4pm.
Why did they cancel the morning flights.
Thank god for common sense of most airlines. However I was due to be in the airport tomorrow with 31 students for a school tour to Iceland. It took us until 3.30pm today to convince wow air that there was even an issue in Dublin airport. Then they told us our flight would still depart at 10.45 am Friday and we’d find out 2 hours before if it was cancelled. Our bus driver said he wouldn’t bring us to the airport due to the warning (which is fair enough). We have finally gave out enough (teachers parents and travel company) that they may now be willing to reschedule our flight. But this has been on going since midday today. I would warn anybody flying with wow air of their poor customer support. My colleague was left on hold for over 30 minutes on numerous occasions since last night.
If we ever have a crisis ..were doomed.. snow and the hole place comes to a stop..
So, we are going to fit a day and a half into a single afternoon. You have to tell me how it’s done.
@Ben Gunn: Put your head between your legs and follow your nose, Ben.
Lots of Flights from Dublin cancelled today, weather ok so far.
@Benjamin Dolan: It’s closed from 4pm in anticipation of zero visibility and poor weather. Snow clearing and de-icing takes time so airport can’t operate at full capacity. They could run all flights with delays but that would lead to flights later in the day being cancelled. I assume they cancel flights to cities with multiple flights a day and hope that free space on later flights can take up the slack.
Also fligths to busier airports have tight windows that they have their slot for. If they miss this they may not be able to land at their destination.
Anyway all that to say that the cancellations this morning were probably more likely as a result of delays and missing time slots than planes not actually being able to leave.
@joe:
Ok Joe that make sense thanks for your reply
It better be bad LEO, you’ve closed the country down. Teachers closed schools
And teachers closed the country as well.
God help Ireland if it ever has an emergency.
IRELAND led by a wimp.
Why do you keep saying the “entire “ county? Please make an effort and check Met Eireann
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