France Fitzgerald rules herself out of seeking FG nomination in presidential race
Ms Fitzgerald had been mentioned as a potential replacement for former European commissioner Mairead McGuinness, who withdrew from the election on Thursday citing health grounds.
However, Ms Fitzgerald confirmed to the Irish Examiner that she would not seek the nomination, having declined to do so earlier this year.
The withdrawal of Ms McGuinness means that Fine Gael is seeking a nominee for the election which will happen in the next 11 weeks or so.
The party's executive committee is due to meet in the coming days to set out a new nomination process.
Within the party, former social protection minister Heather Humphreys has emerged as the preferred candidate. However, sources said it was not yet clear if she would change her mind after having earlier this year announced that she would not be seeking the nomination.
Former minister for foreign affairs Simon Coveney is another name which has been suggested, though he has not responded to speculation.
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RTÉ News
23 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Time for Fine Gael Áras candidate contest 'tight'
A member of Fine Gael's National Executive has said that while she would like to see a contest for the party's presidential nomination if there was more than one candidate, the time to do so was now "tight". Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty said the original timeline was to officially launch their campaign at the beginning of the second week of September, which was drawing near. "Time is of the essence, lots of people are still on their holidays is what maybe makes it a little more will deal with whatever is put in front of us tomorrow evening we will open the contest we will see how many contenders there are and then decisions will be made based on timelines thereafter," she said. The party's national executive council is due to meet tomorrow evening to discuss next steps following the withdrawal of Mairead McGuinness earlier this week. "The purpose of the meeting now is to assess where we are as a political party and to make decisions for the days and the weeks ahead in relation to the presidential election," Ms Doherty said. She thanked Ms McGuinness for her service to the party as well as the country and wished her family well. She said that tomorrow night, the national executive will reaffirm the decision made last April to run a candidate. "And for us to set out the process by which that candidate can be nominated and voted upon by the electoral college." Ms Doherty said. She added that timelines will also be decided by the national executive as they are conscious that "the clock is ticking". "We've been planning for this election since April, I think we are one of the first political parties to start our process and obviously, what we thought was finish that process earlier on in the summer, but obviously we will make these decisions tomorrow night based on the current circumstances," she said. She said people were expressing their views but said there was no evidence that camps had begun to form. Ms Doherty stressed that most people were still in shock and had "huge respect and regard for Mairead and her family". "I think most people will be happy to wait for the national executive to meet tomorrow night to see what process is put out in place and then I think you will probably see naturally people will decide to declare who they are supporting or who they think might be a great candidate for us and express their views and opinions both privately and publicly," Ms Doherty said. Ms Doherty refused to speculate about who she wanted to support, adding she would rather attend the meeting tomorrow night and wait for the process to be set out. "We don't have anybody official as of yet," she said. She added that she did not have anyone specific in mind at the moment. Asked about growing support for Heather Humphreys, she said people hold the former Cavan-Monaghan TD in high regard, but added that people like MEP Seán Kelly had a team of supporters championing him at the moment. Ms Humphreys told the Sunday Independent that she is now giving it "very serious consideration". "We are very lucky in the position in Fine Gael that we have more than a number of people who are both affable, amiable, well qualified, you know, politically experienced, so we are in a very, very lucky position, I suppose and we will set that ball rolling again now tomorrow evening. "If there were more than one candidate, she said it was healthy for a party to have a contest and members to decide who they wanted to represent them as a political party. "I'm one of those pragmatic people that likes to see people allowing them to have their say and have their day to make their decisions as opposed to having things pre-orchestrated beforehand," Ms Doherty said. However, Ms Doherty appreciated that a contest could put them under time pressure. "Time is of the essence, lots of people are still on their holidays is what maybe makes it a little more will deal with whatever is put in front of us tomorrow evening we will open the contest we will see how many contenders there are and then decisions will be made based on timelines thereafter," she said. Ms Doherty emphasised that the party would be contesting the presidential election.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Zelensky to be joined by EU leaders in Trump Washington meeting on Ukraine
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Finnish president Alexander Stubb, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron have confirmed their participation. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni will join the talks as well. The move comes as European nations shift their focus toward providing Ukraine with robust security guarantees that will be discussed during a video call of the so-called coalition-of-the-willing countries on Sunday afternoon. Trump said after his talks with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday that he'll urge Zelensky to make a quick deal, and sounded receptive to the Russian president's demands that Ukraine give up large areas of land in the east of the country. European official are skeptical that a peace agreement can be rapidly reached, and that Putin even wants one. Von der Leyen said in a post on X that she'll host Zelensky in Brussels on Sunday afternoon before joining him, Trump and other European leaders at the White House meeting. Monday's talks will include, among other things, security guarantees, territorial issues, and continued support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression, according to a German statement. It will be Zelensky's first visit in the White House since February, when his Oval Office encounter with Trump turned into a public shouting match and led to US briefly pausing military aid to Ukraine. While the two leaders patched up their relationship since then, the Ukrainian president needs all the support he can muster as the US president presses for a fast peace deal, and Putin sticks to his maximalist demands. Trump told European leaders on a call Saturday, following his talks with Putin in Alaska, that he was prepared to contribute to security guarantees with Europe so long as it didn't involve NATO, Bloomberg reported earlier. The US president suggested Putin would be OK with such an arrangement, people familiar with the matter said. The Kremlin hasn't commented. Trump also indicated he could be looking to organize a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders as early as within a week, the people said. Zelensky has said repeatedly that he's willing to meet Putin. The Kremlin has yet to provide a similar commitment, and many European officials doubt he wants to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which is halfway through its fourth year. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more The topic of a trilateral summit wasn't raised during the meetings in Alaska, Russia's state TV channel Vesti reported on Saturday, citing Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. The specifics of a US contribution to any security guarantees for Ukraine are unclear. The discussions have touched upon the possibility of granting Kyiv assurances from some allies - similar to those of NATO's Article 5 collective defense clause - which commits members to defend each other if attacked, said the people. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, and cautioned that a NATO-like mechanism would be difficult. An alternative would be bolstering, through US commitments, earlier plans coordinated by the UK and France, which included reassurance forces, monitoring and air-cover, the people said. Ahead of his meeting with Putin, the US president told allies that reaching a ceasefire would be his key demand. He also threatened to walk out of the talks and impose tough new punitive measures on Moscow and countries buying its oil if it wasn't met. Yet Trump signaled on Friday that he wasn't in a rush to implement fresh penalties on Russia's trading partners. Following his calls with Zelensky and European leaders early Saturday, Trump said in a Truth Social post that it had been "determined by all" that the best way to end the war was to achieve a peace dal and "not a mere Ceasefire Agreement." Most statements issued by European leaders on Saturday made no mention of a ceasefire. Trump told Zelensky and European leaders that Putin wants Ukraine to cede control of the entire Donbas region in Ukraine's east, renewing earlier demands, Bloomberg previously reported. Zelensky has repeatedly ruled out giving up all of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, which comprise Donbas. Moscow's forces only partially control the region and have failed to take it militarily after more than a decade of fighting that predated Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia would also halt advancing its claims over the parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions it doesn't now control, effectively freezing the battle lines there. The Kremlin could also potentially withdraw troops from other regions such as Sumy and Kharkiv in Ukraine's northeast, areas near the Russian border where Kremlin forces control only small pockets of land. According to an assessment by the UK defense ministry, it would take Russia more than four years to fully occupy the four Ukrainian regions it laid claim to in 2022. That would come at a cost of nearly 2 million additional Russian casualties based on current battlefield advances, the ministry said on X. While maintaining that any territorial decisions are for Zelensky to make, Trump has repeatedly signaled that a peace agreement would include land "swaps," and has urged the Ukrainian president to make a deal. Russia's rejection of repeated calls for an interim ceasefire "complicates the situation," Zelensky said in a social media post late on Saturday. "If they lack the will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes, it may take a lot of effort to get Russia to have the will to implement far greater - peaceful coexistence with its neighbors for decades."
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
European leaders to join Zelenskyy when he meets Trump at the White House
European leaders will join Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he meets Donald Trump for peace talks at the White House on Monday. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish president Alexander Stubb were the first leaders to confirm they will join Mr Zelensky in Washington DC. Mr Zelenskyy's Oval Office rendezvous with the US president will take place after Western allies meet for a coalition of the willing video call on Sunday afternoon. The call will be hosted by British leader Keir Starmer, France's Emmanuel Macron and Mr Merz. Downing Street would not comment on whether Sir Keir plans to travel to Washington to join other European leaders on Monday. The show of unity by European leaders comes as Mr Trump appears poised to urge the Ukrainian leader to agree to a Russian land grab of his country's territory, according to reports. Several news outlets have reported Russian president Vladimir Putin has demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war. In exchange, he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops, several news outlets said, attributing sources familiar with Mr Putin and Mr Trump's negotiations in Alaska on Friday. Mr Trump is said to be inclined to support the plan, and will speak to Mr Zelenskyy about it when they meet in the Oval Office The European leaders may also fear a repeat of Mr Zelenskyy's last visit to the White House at the end of February. The tumultuous spat resulted in a souring of relations between the US and Ukraine.
