JUST ONE candidate has so far officially declared as a candidate to succeed Margaret Ritchie as SDLP leader. However with nominations closing tomorrow evening, at least three other Assembly members are seriously considering running for the post.
The South Belfast MP Dr Alasdair McDonnell, whom Ms Ritchie narrowly defeated for the leadership in February last year, is virtually certain to run. Fellow South Belfast Assembly member Conall McDevitt and West Belfast MLA Alex Attwood also may stand for the post, according to senior party sources.
Ms Ritchie’s announcement last week that she would be resigning at the annual SDLP conference in November has set in train considerable manoeuvring and jockeying for position by the declared and potential contenders.
Patsy McGlone, the SDLP deputy leader and Mid-Ulster Assembly member, decided in early August that he would challenge Ms Ritchie for the leadership, in a move that contributed to her decision to stand down in November.
Mr McGlone’s move was partly motivated by anger at Ms Ritchie’s decision to overlook him for the SDLP’s single ministry in the Northern Executive after the May Assembly elections. Instead she appointed Mr Attwood as Minister of the Environment.
The heave against Ms Ritchie was also prompted by the SDLP’s poor performance in the Assembly elections, where the party dropped from 16 to 14 seats, and internal and external complaints that she performed disappointingly in her 19 months as leader.
Each candidate must have nominations from at least five of the SDLP’s 60 or so branches. Mr McGlone already has these nominations while sources say Dr McDonnell and Mr Attwood have sufficient nominations and that Mr McDevitt is at least on the verge of reaching the five nominations.
All four could allow their names to go forward for the leadership election, which would be decided by a proportional representation vote if there are more than two candidates. Each has the option of pulling out ahead of the conference vote and possibly supporting one of the other candidates.
Mr McGlone and Dr McDonnell have so far been viewed as front-runners but, sources say, they are also conscious that if they compete against each other there is a possibility that a split vote could result in Mr Attwood or Mr McDevitt taking the post.
While Mr McGlone has insisted he will stand for the leadership, it is understood that Dr McDonnell over recent days has been trying to establish if the Mid-Ulster Assembly member would settle for a “dream ticket leadership scenario”.
This, according to sources, could be where Dr McDonnell would seek to hold the post for a limited period of about three years with Mr McGlone deemed as the “heir apparent” while also taking the SDLP ministry in the Northern Executive.
Equally, Mr McGlone is aware that were to he wait for three years, even with a ministry, a younger candidate such as Mr McDevitt, campaigning on a “time for change” manifesto, could wrest the leadership from him.
While the wheeling and dealing continues behind the scenes, what is at least clear is that whoever wins the leadership, they will face a daunting challenge in seeking to revitalise and restructure the party.
