Sinn Féin's candidate in the upcoming Galway West bye-election has ruled out having a unified left-wing candidate in future elections amid calls for closer cooperation among parties on the left.
Six candidates from Sinn Féin, Labour, the Greens, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and the independent Sheila Garrity met on Wednesday of last week to confirm that they would support a 'Vote Left, Transfer Left' pact between them.
The meeting was organised by the Galway-based activist group Tonn na Clé, which aims to foster closer cooperation among the left-wing groups following the success of President Catherine Connolly's successful campaign.
However, Sinn Féin candidate Mark Lohan - who is also part of Tonn na Clé - has confirmed that his party will not be taking part in a more formalised left coalition involving a unified candidate.
Speaking to the Advertiser, he said, “We’re never going to come together and have a single candidate. I think there was some discussion of that at one point and maybe that’s where a little bit of the scepticism of it working properly is coming from.
“In the reality of a bye-election, and in our political party system, we have to express ourselves in our own way. I don’t think there’s a difficulty there in that.
“I’m in this to win this for Sinn Féin but I can also find that common ground with those parties on the left.”
Mr Lohan also said that cooperation on the left in Galway had improved noticeably since the election of Catherine Connolly to the presidency and that such cooperation would be necessary to the chances of creating an alternative government without Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.
He said, “The way I have described it previously to people is, we all know each other, we’ve campaigned similarly on common issues; housing, Palestinian rights and other issues, but come election time we’ll be elbows out into each other. There’s less of that now and I think there’s more of a spirit of cooperation.
“There’s also a vibe coming from people that they want something different, and that there’s a thirst for an alternative. We saw that in the Catherine Connolly campaign and certainly in Galway West it’s very much alive.
“There’s a commonality of purpose there amongst the parties of the Left. And the candidates all know each other, are comfortable with each other...If there is truly to be an alternative government, we can show how to lead the way here.
Founding member and moderator of Tonn na Clé, Michelle Ní Chléirigh also spoke to the Advertiser and said the a variety of strategies amongst the left had been “explored and considered” ahead of the bye-election but that the decision not to have a unified candidate was the most pragmatic one.
She said, “It’s the most pragmatic one at this moment in time. It is the six candidates/parties that were active during the Connolly campaign and there is really strong cohesion.
“The bye-election is a short-term event. Overall the long-term agenda is that there would be a Left government. What Tonn na Clé is, is a grassroots activist organisation that is building on the momentum that was there during the Connolly campaign.
“It’s a level above us to try and get the parties integrated, and we’re hoping the politicians will do that at a senior party level”
