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THE TOUCHY SUBJECT of who holds the most power in the Fine Gael party has come to the surface again this week, with the reopening of presidential candidate nominations.
MEP Seán Kelly was first out of the traps, confirming that he had decided to throw his hat in the ring.
It was quickly followed by former minister Heather Humphreys, who quickly followed with her presidential bid announcement.
Any potential candidate needs the nomination of 20 members of the Parliamentary Party, 25 Fine Gael Councillors and five members of the Executive Council.
However, Humphrey’s stormed ahead yesterday, and as of now, she has hoovered up at least 41 endorsements from the TDs, senators and MEPs, appearing to leave little path for Kelly to reach the threshold.
There has been an uncomfortable debate within Fine Gael for many years now about how the power is weighted in favour of TDs and senators, rather than its councillors.
“I actually think that it should be one member, one vote, and it should be a level playing field. It is not exactly democratic,” Fine Gael Clare County Councillor Paul Murphy told The Journal.
“I know TDs are elected and they have a mandate and all that, but the councillors, I mean, I don’t believe that my vote should be any more valuable in an election like this than my parents or my wife or any other Fine Gael member. And I feel quite strongly on that,” he said when asked about the presidential nomination process currently underway.
Asked about how many parliamentary party members were quick out of the traps to publicly back Humphreys’ candidacy, Murphy said:
“I’m sorry here… the TDS should keep their mouth shut. And this thing of saying, ‘well, I’m publicly backing X or Y’ – if they kept their mouth shut, it mightn’t be too bad, but I mean, by coming out publicly and saying it, that’s putting pressure on their colleagues or whatever, to go one way or another. And I just think that’s terrible myself,” said Murphy.
The Clare councillor said Humphreys is a “fantastic candidate, without a shadow of a doubt”, but added: “I would be big Seán Kelly supporter myself.”
“But I feel very aggrieved on his behalf… I just think he deserved a proper crack at the whip here. And like I said, I’ve fantastic time for Heather. I do know her on a personal-ish level, but you know what, I’d have liked to see the two of them having a bit of an election and may the best man or woman win,” he said.
A number of councillors The Journal spoke to said that a change in the electoral college rules, which currently gives the Fine Gael parliamentary party the most weight, would be welcome.
Such a rule change was hotly debated back at the party’s special conference in Maynooth in 2023.
At the time, Seán Finan, former President of Macra, told the crowd attending the debate that the weighted percentage for members should increase or the party runs the risk of losing people who want a say and who are important to the party’s success.
Murphy told The Journal that it is definitely something that should be looked at, stating that it would be something he and his council colleagues might put a motion down on at the next ard fheis.
“It’s very frustrating as far as I’m concerned,” he said.
Fine Gael Kerry Councillor Angie Bailey said she has only spent one full year in local politics, so she is coming at the presidential selection process with “fresh eyes”.
She told The Journal that the presidential candidate selection “absolutely should not be down to the decision of the parliamentary party alone”.
Bailey said she did not know Humphreys personally, but added that since she declared her interest in running for the nomination, Kelly was “not being given a look in”.
“I am sure she will be an excellent candidate, but Seán would be super, [there's a] great way with him,” she said.
Bailey said Kelly is great with younger people and never misses a GAA game back home. She said he listens to the people and those qualities are very important for an office such as the presidency.
“I don’t think two candidates would have been a bad thing for Fine Gael, also stating that she would have liked to see a contest.
“I think a contest would be good for the party,” she said.
The parliamentary party having such a power over the process is not the way forward, according to Bailey, who said “there needs to be a more reflective way to represent the collective, rather than a small group like the parliamentary party”.
Cork County Councillor Tony O’Shea agreed that grassroots members and the council members should have more of a say, stating:
“We are all part of the Fine Gael family, so we should all have an input into it.”
However, he noted that the preferential candidate for the party appeared to be Humphreys, stating that he was “happy enough” with the decision.
Fine Gael Councillor on Cork County Council, Una McCarthy, said she would have liked to see a contest take place between Kelly and Humphreys.
“I think a contest is healthy,” she said, while acknowledging that the party is very lucky to have two very worthy candidates putting their name in the hat to become president.
“They both have very good credentials, like Heather Humphreys brings domestic credibility. She obviously has parliamentary backing, and Seán Kelly offers international standing and cultural recognition through his presidency of the GAA, so both are very worthy candidates,” said McCarthy.
“But it is a pity if it is the case that we won’t have a contest. I know that reports at the moment is that Heather has surged ahead of the competition. She’s secured like 40 members, I believe, and Sean Seán Kelly has a more modest level of support currently.
“I was in favour of a contest all along, to be honest, the system is the system. The nomination process is there, 20 Fine Gael parliamentary party, 25 councillors and five members of the Executive Council. So they’re the rules. They can’t be changed now, but would I prefer it to be more balanced? I would absolutely,” she said.
McCarthy highlighted an example of when another contest also raised the question of the power of the parliamentary party – the race for the leadership with Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney.
No sooner had Varadkar announced, he had the majority of the parliamentary party out publicly supporting him, similar to the case with Humphreys and the presidential nomination this week.
“Coveney had a lot of the grassroots following him, but it didn’t matter. It was more who came out first from the parliamentary party, and that’s really what nailed it,” McCarthy said, reflecting on that time.
“So, in an ideal world, I would change it if I could and give more of a balanced approach to people’s opinions,” she concluded.
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