SINN FÉIN:FORMER TAOISEACH John Bruton has accused Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness of "walking away" from the Northern Executive and failing to give an adequate account of his past.
Speaking to journalists in Paris, where he was visiting in his capacity as president of IFSC Ireland, Mr Bruton said it was “hard to accept” that Mr McGuinness, by running for president, was putting Sinn Féin’s electoral interests before those of the Executive.
“I would have thought that Mr McGuinness would have enough to do with the job he has already, without wanting to travel into another jurisdiction. I don’t understand why he’s walking away from the job,” Mr Bruton said.
“The creation of that job was so hard-won that walking away from it in these circumstances for what is purely a party advantage, is hard to accept.”
Asked if Mr McGuinness’s rise reflected public anger towards mainstream parties, Mr Bruton replied: ‘What rise? He won’t win. He is third in the polls.
“I think he is a very personable individual and has a lot of good qualities. But he also has a record that has not been adequately explained.”
Fine Gael candidate Gay Mitchell and Minister for Defence Alan Shatter have questioned Mr McGuinness’s suitability for an office that involves being supreme commander of the Defence Forces.
Asked if he shared their view, Mr Bruton said it was legitimate for candidates to be asked “unanswered questions”. “It would be asked of Bertie Ahern if he were to stand for president. It will be asked of anybody who runs for president. Why should Martin McGuinness be exempt from having questions asked about his past?” Mr Bruton added he did not believe Mr McGuinness’s claim that he left the IRA in the mid-1970s.