Burke eager for a fair convention

Fireworks could fly at Monday evening's Fine Gael convention to select its Longford/Westmeath candidates for the next general election.

Supporters of Mullingar councillor Peter Burke fear that he may fall victim to Fine Gael's reported strategy of running only two candidates in the election, one of whom must be a woman. The other two confirmed candidates are sitting TDs James Bannon from Longford and Gabrielle McFadden from Athlone.

A Fine Gael source from the Mullingar area criticised senior figures in the party for their “undemocratic” meddling in local affairs and “hanging” Cllr Burke, who last Monday was appointed as mayor of the Mullingar Municipal District.

“It could be very nasty at the meeting. We're fighting to give Mullingar and north Westmeath the choice of having a government TD. We think that we are entitled to not be left as a poor relation.”

The source also noted that Fine Gael have not issued directives based on gender quotas in other constituency and politicians such as Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy in Offaly/North Tipperary will have to go head to head with male candidates to win their nomination for the election.

“Why take the power away from members, why remove the choice?” the source said.
He also claimed that every Fine Gael member from Westmeath County Council wants three candidates and a “fair convention”.

It is believed that if a selection directive based on gender is issued from Fine Gael, Cllr Burke will withdraw his candidacy.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner he says that he will be “asking members to support my right to a fair convention and their right to choose the candidate of their choice”.

In a letter to the 1200 Fine Gael members eligible to vote in Monday's convention, Cllr Burke outlined his credentials including the fact that he polled the highest number of first preference votes of any FG candidate in the constituency in the 2011 general election despite being a late addition onto the party ticket.

He also expressed his “firm belief and a widely held view that Fine Gael will have a much better chance of winning two seats in Longford/Westmeath by running three candidates”.