Former tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald will not seek the Fine Gael nomination for this year’s presidential election.
Ms Fitzgerald served as an MEP until last year’s European elections and held cabinet positions as minister for justice, minister for children and minister for enterprise during an Oireachtas career that took in two periods as a TD and a spell in the Seanad.
Ms Fitzgerald said she had discussed the possibility with Fine Gael leader and Tánaiste Simon Harris, as well as with a broad range of other people, including many who had suggested she should seek the position.
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“I’ve been approached by many people,” she said. “I’m very flattered and really want to thank the people over a long period who have suggested it to me but I have decided I won’t be contesting.”
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The reasons behind her decision were “multifactorial”, she said, but included an assessment of the political landscape, the campaign and whether it was the right time for her personally. She said she had given it serious consideration.
“I will be supporting whoever emerges from the [Fine Gael] convention whenever it is held,” she said, adding she hoped the party would “break the mould” and return a successful candidate to Áras an Uachtaráin.
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Ms Fitzgerald’s decision narrows the potential pool of front-runners for the Fine Gael nomination. Her former MEP colleague, Mairead McGuinness, who also served as Ireland’s European commissioner from 2020 until last year, is tipped to seek the nomination, while Ireland South MEP Seán Kelly has also indicated he may pursue it.
Ms Fitzgerald said she had not given consideration to whether she would endorse another candidate seeking the Fine Gael nomination. She said the presidential contest would be a “challenging election” but that the Irish people have shown themselves to be “very wise in their choices” in recent elections.
“The public want someone to be proud of, who they can admire and represent the country well abroad,” she said, adding that it was a “terrific honour” even to be considered.
Asked about the potential candidacy of former mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, she said he would find it difficult to secure a nomination.
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“I don’t recognise the view of Ireland he speaks about,” she added. “What he says about Irish politics, I don’t recognise, and I don’t recognise his stereotyping of the issues within Ireland.
“There are issues in relation to violence and antisocial behaviour which we have to address but to fuel that with anti-immigrant rhetoric I really consider horrible,” she said.
Ms Fitzgerald said she would continue with work she had been doing, including in the NGO space, on protecting democracy and “fighting and working for equality in all its facets”.
She said she will also pursue her interests in business, economics and social issues.
