Launching her own electoral campaign in the Dublin Central constituency, the Sinn Féin leader said the 70-plus candidates being fielded by her party proved it was “serious about winning” and removing both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail from power.
“There is a huge appetite for change. There is a huge need for change, and by that we mean a new government,” Ms McDonald said.
“So, we are saying to people very directly, you will have a choice. Actually, it will be a historic choice. In election after election, it has always boiled down really to either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, Tweedledum or Tweedledee. On this occasion, there now is a live option for a different government, a new government,” Ms McDonald said.
Ms McDonald was reserved in criticising the US president-elect, Donald Trump, unlike other parties of the left here have done. However, she said she believed he needed rise to the standards of the leader of the free world and respect every citizen, including women.
The ongoing crisis in Palestine should be top of the agenda and Sinn Féin would not be shy in addressing matters they disagreed with Mr Trump on, said Ms McDonald, but she said the democratic outcome of the election must be respected.
“I think everybody in leadership positions has to work to acknowledge and respect every citizen. As a woman I think it very important that women input in public life and women across society are fully respected in every which way and I would expect the leader of the free world to rise to those standards,” she added.
The Sinn Féin leader said there was no economic consequences from a Trump administration that Ireland couldn’t “manage and mitigate”.
“Just remember, when he was president before, Irish corporate tax receipts, I think, rose by 60pc or something of that quantum. So, I don’t think there is for us, economically speaking, anything that we can’t manage and mitigate.
“And I think beyond that, where we have differences with any administration, be it in the United States or elsewhere, we will not be shy about addressing those differences,” Ms McDonald said.
Sinn Fein goes into the election on the back of a difficult number of weeks for the party. It has faced intense criticism of its handling of several controversies focused on how it dealt with a range of allegations and complaints against party members.
In the last 12 months, the party has also seen its poll ratings dip quite significantly, dropping from front runner to leave it trailing behind both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in a series of recent polls.
However, Ms McDonald struck an upbeat tone as she spoke to the media at Wynn’s Hotel this evening. She also said that chronic housing shortages in Ireland would be the defining issue of the campaign.
“Victory, success, means a change of government,” she said. “That’s how it will be measured for us. We’ve talked a long time about the need for a change of direction.
“We’ve spoken particularly about the area of housing, this will be the biggest issue in this campaign. In our opinion, if society and if government continues to fail in this area, there are economic and social consequences that are profound and far reaching.
“I don’t believe that housing will be sorted out by a government led by either Fianna Fail or Fine Gael. So, we want to invite people to vote for change and a change in government.”
Hundreds of local Sinn Féin members gathered in the crowded conference room of the city centre hotel this evening, chosen for its historic links to the foundation of Cumann na mBan 100 years ago. Damien Dempsey’s ‘Landlords in the Government’ played out over the speakers.
“The last year or so has been a tough one for [my family], but we’ve stuck together, as families do, and we’ve come through it,” Ms McDonald told those gathered. But this was the time to rally the troops and after a difficult local election, Ms McDonald’s focus was clear.
“We are Irish Republicans, and Irish Republicans make history. Over the next three weeks, we are called upon, all of us, to make history again, to write the next chapter in that legacy,” Ms McDonald said.
She continued: “We will run enough candidates so that Sinn Féin can lead the next government. The rest is over to the people. This will all be a question of the campaign. The next three weeks will be absolutely decisive in that regard.”
