Election race is on

IT’S game on. The 2011 General Election campaign is up and running even though the polling date could be anywhere between Christmas and the end of March.

In Clare, the main candidates are a given although the incumbent TDs, Tony Killeen and Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fáil, and Pat Breen and Joe Carey, Fine Gael, are saying officially that they have to be ratified at their respective conventions.
This will be merely window dressing for the party faithful and the real political intrigue will lie in all the canvassing and bartering behind the scenes to determine who will join them on the party tickets.
The Donegal Byelection, which was to become a barometer for public feeling towards the embattled Taoiseach Brian Cowen and his Coalition Government, suddenly became irrelevant on Monday when issues surrounding Ireland getting a European Union/International Monetary Fund bailout proved to be the undoing of Fianna Fáil.
Humiliated by being left in the dark by Fianna Fáil over informal and formal contact with the IMF, the Greens publicly called for a general election at the end of January.
Mr Cowen bowed to their request but wants to see the budget through first. Before he even gets to hear Finance Minister Brian Lenihan present the budget in the Dáil on December 7, public outrage will be fuelled by Wednesday’s confirmation of an €85 billion EU/IMF bailout and the announcement of the Government’s four-year national recovery plan, which demands cutbacks and increased taxes to secure €15 billion in savings. Given the level of anger against Fianna Fáil, the party cannot expect too much in Clare beyond the re-election of Tony Killeen and Timmy Dooley. The party is likely to run a third candidate and strong efforts are being made to get somebody who is strategically located in West Clare. A couple of young women have been mentioned as potential candidates to give the party ticket an important gender balance.
Another candidate who is sure to find the going tough on the campaign trail is Brian Meaney, who has been selected to contest a third general election for the Greens.
Councillor Meaney has admitted his party could be wiped out but nevertheless, he has pledged to do his utmost to maximise the Greenvote in Clare.
The only promise Mr Meaney is prepared to make is to be honest with the Clare electorate.
“I don’t think some people fully appreciate the problems facing this country. The Irish taxpayer could be saddled with a massive debt of €250 billion when all the bank debts, sovereign debt and other debts are taken into account,” he said.
Fine Gael, after reclaiming a second seat in 2007 after a gap of almost 20 years, should consolidate their position with Joe Carey and Pat Breen returned. Some party supporters believe there’s an outside chance of a third seat at the expense of Fianna Fáil but this unlikely.
Former TD and a European Parliament candidate, Madeleine Taylor-Quinn has signalled her interest in running after strong overtures from supporters in her West Clare base.
Other Fine Gael figures who are interested getting a nomination are Ennistymon-based councillor, Martin Conway and the party’s top vote catcher at the last local elections, Joe Cooney in the South-East Clare area.
Labour has high hopes of a repeat of the 1992 “red tide” which gave the party its biggest share of Dáil seats and a place in government with Fine Gael.
The party needs a high-profile figure to draw votes from all quarters, as the core Labour vote is quite small. Pascal Fitzgerald secured less than 2% of first-preference votes cast last time out.
It is understood that former Clare goalkeeper, Davy Fitzgerald has been asked to consider entering the political arena. Efforts to contact him on Wednesday to establish his position failed.
There’s also strong speculation that Scariff barrister and part-time farmer, Michael McNamara may also be in Labour’s sights as a possible candidate. He secured 12,744 first preferences as an independent candidate in the 2009 European Elections. Mr McNamara, however, declined to confirm or deny whether he would run for Labour.
Sinn Féin has not yet decided if the party is to run a candidate in Clare.
“We will have a series of meetings with Sinn Féin’s Munster board. To date, we have had some informal discussions but no formal meetings to make a decision have been held,” said spokesman, Finbarr MacGabhann.”
Jim Connolly, the Kilbaha-based social campaigner and sculptor, is an independent candidate.