People Before Profit’s Steering Committee has agreed to endorse Deputy Catherine Connolly for president. Subject to ratification by a National Council of People Before Profit members, Deputies Paul Murphy and Richard Boyd Barrett will formally nominate Deputy Connolly for the position.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said “People Before Profit’s Steering Committee has agreed to endorse Catherine Connolly’s bid for election as president. The Steering Committee’s decisions will go to a National Council of People Before Profit members for ratification in the coming weeks”.
“Catherine Connolly is a popular, principled figure on the left and we are pleased that she has put herself forward as a candidate. We welcome that the Social Democrats have also given their support to Catherine and we urge others on the left to join her campaign”.
“The term of the next President will extend into the early 2030s. It’s very important to have a voice to succeed Michael D Higgins in Áras an Uachtarán who continues to advocate for an equal and inclusive society, and also to highlight the fast approaching threats from failure to act to prevent climate catastrophe and the constant attempts by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to abandon Irish neutrality”.
“We believe that an imaginative campaign in support of Catherine, articulating a radical, progressive vision, and with the energetic backing of the parties of the left, can build a powerful momentum to achieve an important victory”.
“Ensuring that the next President is another voice for progressive values can also be an important step towards deepening left cooperation and strengthening the prospect of a left government as we move toward the next general election”.
“The left, boosted by winning the Presidential election and vowing to rule out coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, would be a very powerful political force with the momentum and popular support necessary to finally end the rule of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. It’s what so many want. The parties of the left have the power to make it happen”.