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TD Éamon Ó Cuív del Fianna Fáil has asked for the replacement of Micheál Martin as leader and is looking for a “new direction” for the party.
Ó Cuív, grandson of the party’s founder, Eamon De Valera and a longtime opponent of the direction Martin has taken Fianna Fáil as leader, made the comments on Today with Clare Byrne on RTÉ radio this morning.
He criticized the party’s performance in the general elections, saying that a recent opinion meant the party was in an “existential crisis.”
A Business Post / Red C poll conducted over the weekend put support for Fianna Fáil at just 10 percent, the latest in a series of polls that have shown support for the party plummeting since the general election. The poll showed that Fianna Fáil’s coalition partner Fine Gael has 35 percent and Sinn Féin 27 percent.
Ó Cuív, a former minister and deputy leader of the party, said he should look at the poll results and decide he needed a change of direction.
Before the formation of the government, he opposed Fianna Fáil’s deal with Fine Gael and the Green Party and said he should talk to Sinn Féin about a coalition.
Ó Cuív previously warned that if Fianna Fáil continued their current course, there would be two great matches in Ireland, but Fianna Fáil would not be among them. Instead, he said, Sinn Féin and Fine Gael would dominate the upcoming election.
His speech comes amid growing concern among some Fianna Fáil TDs about Martin’s leadership.
Last week, Fianna Fáil Vice President TD Marc MacSharry criticized Martin’s performance at a parliamentary party meeting, while other TDs have complained that Martin has excluded them from a contribution to policy making and government decisions.
Two successive Agriculture Ministers have also left: Fianna Fáil Vice President Dara Calleary resigned after the golf dinner at Oireachtas, while Barry Cowen was fired after revelations about a drunk driving incident ago four years.
Martin also had to deal with a wave of unrest among his supporters when they were omitted from his ministerial and junior ministerial candidates on the formation of the government, and several publicly criticized him, some in extremely harsh tones, in the local media.
Party sources say there is significant unrest in the parliamentary party with many members privately, and some publicly, criticizing Martin’s leadership.
While the Cork TD has often had an uneasy relationship with elements of its parliamentary party since it became leader (its position in favor of the liberalization of abortion laws in Ireland was deeply resented by many), it has deteriorated since general elections and government formation.
While Ó Cuív has indicated that he does not intend to file a vote of no confidence on Mr. Martin, the issue of leadership is now frequently discussed privately between TDs at Fianna Fáil and senators at Leinster House.
However, Martin’s allies point to the fact that he secured the backing of three-quarters of party members for the coalition agreement with Fine Gael and the Green Party.
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