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Aontú Ireland rejects comparison to Farage's Reform UK
Aontú Ireland rejects comparison to Farage's Reform UK

Irish Times

time25-05-2025

  • Politics
  • Irish Times

Aontú Ireland rejects comparison to Farage's Reform UK

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín focused his keynote speech at the party's ardfheis predominantly on Government waste. He went on the offensive against the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael leaders, telling delegates ' Government incompetence is incinerating your money and slowing key projects to a halt'. Listing scandal after spending scandal, including the Leinster House €336,000 'Gucci' bike shelter and the €2.4 billion delayed national children's hospital, he took repeated swipes at the Coalition. On immigration, he said Government policy 'has been chaotic and has damaged the cohesion of this country'. Six years ago 'Aontú was alone is stating that we as a country must have an open, respectful conversation about immigration'. READ MORE 'If you don't allow people to discuss immigration you push the discussion underground where it will be harvested and manipulated by bad actors for their own purposes. This is exactly what happened.' It was music to cheering party delegates' ears. This focus on waste of public funds, 'incompetent political leadership' and immigration has clear echoes of Reform UK , Nigel Farage 's party which campaigns on a platform of 'common sense'. Aontú's stance, like Reform's, is about 'not being afraid to stand against the prevailing winds', although Mr Tóibín and party delegates reject the comparison. Maria Byrne, from Kilcullen, Co Kildare joined the party because of 'disillusionment with Fianna Fáil' who were not listening 'to the concerns of ordinary people'. Dismissing any likeness between Aontú and Nigel Farage's populist party in the UK, she says she is 'left-leaning on political issues', adding: 'Some people think that Aontú is a right-wing party because it is pro-life. I'm pro-life in that it is a human rights issue.' Theresa Lynch from Cork North-West traditionally voted Fianna Fáil and joined Aontú 'because I'm pro-life'. She believes Fianna Fáil 'are not listening to any of our concerns', whether about immigration, education or the HSE's vaccination programme. Adam O'Neill (18) from Carnew, Co Wicklow, says Reform is economically a right-wing organisation while 'Aontú is left-wing', and 'we aren't as populist or as driven by the trends of the time'. Delegates at the ardfheis on Saturday backed a motion calling for an 'outright ban' on anyone who 'purposely destroyed their travel documents' entering the State. However, party members at the event in Gormanston, Co Meath, rejected a motion stating that no non-Irish citizen should be allowed to 'enter the State if they have a criminal conviction'. During the first debate at the ardfheis, on the topic of international protection, Meath councillor Emer Tóibín, the leader's sister, said there was 'no long-term plan' for the 'unsustainable' immigration system. Delegates also supported a motion stating that only the national flag should be displayed on public buildings as public spaces should not be aligned 'with any particular ideology or political stance'. Aontú more than doubled its vote share (to 3.9 per cent) in the general election, returning two TDs – Mr Tóibín and Mayo-based Paul Lawless. Critics claim that, like Reform, the party engages in the 'culture wars' on issues like gender recognition but Mr Tóibín says 'we're just standing with the people'. 'Aontú is on the rise' because 'we have a backbone, we are confident to stand against the prevailing winds of the political establishment' and 'puncture the political bubble that exists in Leinster House', says the former Sinn Féin TD. On immigration, 'compassion and common sense is where the vast majority of Irish people exist' but the Government is 'in a bubble' and 'not listening to the people', Mr Tóibín adds.

Democrats race toward 2028 while Republicans take a wait-and-see approach
Democrats race toward 2028 while Republicans take a wait-and-see approach

CNN

time13-05-2025

  • Politics
  • CNN

Democrats race toward 2028 while Republicans take a wait-and-see approach

The 2028 presidential primary contests are still nearly three years away, but the early jockeying to replace President Donald Trump has already started in earnest — at least among Democrats. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who narrowly won the 2020 Iowa caucuses, is back in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday for a veterans-focused town hall. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrats' 2024 vice presidential nominee, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore are attending events in South Carolina, a longtime early primary state, at the end of the month. Other would-be leaders of the party have started floating their names as possible contenders, beefing up their fundraising apparatuses, launching podcasts and visiting key states. While Republicans appear wary of stepping on Trump's toes during the early days of his second term, Democrats are rushing to fill a leadership vacuum caused by their 2024 losses and uneven response to the current administration. 'I think [voters] are hungry and thirsty for what comes next, and these people see a political opportunity to fill that void and to make a name for themselves,' said one former 2020 Democratic presidential campaign staffer. 'Talk about their records, do more interviews, do more alternative media, start PACs, raise money, hire a small team, travel around the country — I think everybody sees an opening.' The rush signals the potential for a wide-open Democratic field, even as former Vice President Kamala Harris weighs whether to run for governor of California in 2026 or launch a third bid for the White House. The next election cycle could rival 2020, when more than two dozen people sought the party's nomination. Candidates began launching their campaigns as early as summer 2017, while more than a dozen people started running in the winter and spring following the 2018 midterms. While the contours of a 2028 race are still difficult to divine at this stage, Democratic voters will likely look to candidates to articulate why they lost the last election and how best to defeat Trump's Make America Great Again movement, whose followers will be searching for an heir to the president. Already, those who have floated their names or said they're fielding calls about running have laid out their approach to taking on Trump's GOP successor. Asked by veteran Democratic strategist (and CNN political analyst) David Axelrod last month whether she is considering a run, former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said 'yes,' before saying Democrats need to engage in deep introspection. 'Where did we go wrong?' she said. 'What are our policies going to be? What is our platform going to be? What will our tactics be? How will we overcome this impression that we're elitist?' Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has distinguished himself from other Democratic governors by aggressively taking on Trump and criticizing his own party's 'simpering timidity,' including during a fiery speech in New Hampshire last month. Kentucky's Andy Beshear — the two-term red-state governor who recently said he would 'consider' running for president — has started a podcast and is elevating his national profile. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has also jumped into the podcast game, angering members of his party along the way by breaking with many Democrats leaders on issues such as transgender athletes' participation in sports. Others have participated in the growing trend of Democratic lawmakers holding town halls in districts held by Republicans. Walz, who has not ruled out a 2028 presidential run, held several events this spring. Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, who outperformed Harris to earn a battleground state Trump won last year and who has become a leading voice on how to win back moderates, held his own event in Pennsylvania over the weekend. A few elected officials have been more coy. Governors such as Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Moore of Maryland have stressed their commitment to their work at home and have brushed off the 'resistance' label. 'I am not running,' Moore said when asked whether he would run for president in 2028 during an appearance on the 'The View' this month. 'I'm really excited about the work that's happening right now in the state of Maryland,' he said. Of course, today's answer is not always tomorrow's: Then-Sen. Barack Obama said in January 2006 that he would not run for president and would serve his full six-year term only to launch a campaign in February 2007. A Democratic strategist advising a possible 2028 candidate said they thought the future primary would be a 'healthy' size, which they said was a positive. Some of the policy ideas in major Biden administration laws such as the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act originated during the 2020 presidential primary. The next primary could offer a range of theories on how Democrats can defeat Trump's successor. 'The more people who step forward and say, 'This is why I think we lost, and this is how I will be able to win people over and this is the long term vision I have for our country,' the better,' the strategist said. Harris has also started to reemerge since last year's election loss and leaving Washington four months ago. The former vice president recently spoke at a gala hosted by Emerge, which works with women interested in running for politics, and appeared at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee. She also made a surprise appearance at the Met Gala in New York, though she skipped the red carpet. Looming over every appearance is the question of what Harris will do next: Either run for California governor, where her entrance into the race could clear the field, or wade into a crowded Democratic primary in 2028, where her opponents might attempt to magnify her failed 2020 and 2024 runs. The 2020 Democratic campaign staffer pointed to Harris' poor showing in 2019 — when she dropped out before the Iowa caucuses — and her losses to Trump last November in every swing state. 'If the battleground states would have been more muddled, [or if] she would have won the popular vote, I think that there'd be a bigger push for her to stay involved at the presidential level,' they said. Prospective Republican candidates, meanwhile, seem to be giving the president breathing room to enact his agenda and waiting to see what sort of influence he'll have in 2028, particularly when it comes to Vice President JD Vance. After weeks of flirting with the idea of a constitutionally prohibited third term in office — including selling 'Trump 2028' hats — Trump told NBC News in an interview last week he's 'not looking at' another campaign. In the same interview, Trump pointed to two potential successors: Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Most of the 2028 GOP field is taking a 'wait-and-see approach' to the presidential contest and whether Trump lets the race play out or throws his weight behind Vance or another candidate, said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked on Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign. 'The leadership vacuum [on the left] is going to draw people into the presidential race sooner. There's no leadership vacuum' among Republicans, Conant said. 'If anything, it's a crowded room filled by one man.' Unlike Democrats, Republicans traveling to early primary states do so at their own peril, said Bill Stepien, a GOP strategist who managed Trump's 2020 campaign. 'Everyone knows why you're in Manchester, New Hampshire, or Ames, Iowa. You're not fooling anybody,' he said. 'The advice is to do the job you have and do it really, really well.' Some prospective candidates have received the message. The New Hampshire Republican Party was in discussion late last year with two prospective GOP presidential contenders about headlining events in 2025, one person with knowledge of the planning told CNN. But after Trump's inauguration, the conversations abruptly ended. 'Since then, there's been crickets,' the person said. 'It's almost as if the word has gotten out not to rain on Trump's parade.' The New Hampshire Republican Party did not respond to requests for comment. The dark period is a stark change from the summer of 2024, when many of the GOP's ascending stars appeared eager to court Granite State Republicans at the party's July convention. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Sen. Tom Cotton, both of Arkansas, addressed the New Hampshire delegation while several others had a more intimate and private audience, the source said. Convention organizers assigned New Hampshire attendees to a hotel in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin — an hour away from the convention in downtown Milwaukee, fueling speculation that Trump's advisers didn't want ambitious Republicans hobnobbing too much with the delegates from the first-in-the-nation primary. Now, the expectation is that activity will remain limited through 2025. 'No one is informally laying the groundwork, no one is organizing to a 'Draft X Candidate' committee,' said the person familiar with the New Hampshire GOP's discussions. 'I don't see anything happening this year.' Another GOP strategist said prospective candidates who would normally use this time to start super PACs and deliver set-piece speeches need to instead take a more subtle approach oriented around supporting the administration. 'You're going to get yourself on Fox [News] as much as possible. You're going to try to do something high profile to support the president, but then you're quietly thinking, 'All right, what am I going to need? How can I raise a whole bunch of money?'' the strategist said. 'I wouldn't be going to Iowa and New Hampshire yet.'

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