Campaigner and barrister Maria Steen, who announced her intention to seek a nomination for President last week, has won an early and significant coup, by securing this evening the “full” support of Independent TD Carol Nolan.
In a statement issued to Gript Media this evening Deputy Nolan said:
“I am delighted to offer Maria my full support in her bid for Presidential candidacy. To my mind, she is a formidable unity candidate who can bring all strands of authentically independent voices together. Maria has demonstrated a remarkable ability and passion for the best of Irish constitutionalism and Irish tradition. I am strongly urging all Oireachtas members to give Maria the support she needs”.
Nolan’s intervention is significant for a number of reasons – most prominently that it makes the mathematics much harder, if not impossible, for any other candidate in the field to win the backing of 20 “Independent” TDs and Senators.
It is understood by Gript Media that a significant contingent of Independent and smaller party TDs and Senators have been considering approaches from candidates in recent weeks, both from those who have publicly declared and others who have not yet publicly confirmed their intention to seek a nomination.
It is understood that several candidates have explored a nexus of support that would include the backing of Aontu, Independent Ireland, Mattie McGrath, Gillian Toole, Carol Nolan, and Senators such as Sharon Keogan, Ronan Mullen, and Gerard Craughwell. However such a path is still seen as highly reliant on the backing of other politicians who are less likely to commit, including Government supporting Independent TDs like Marian Harkin and Noel Grealish.
However, with the maths as tight as it is, a successful candidate could not hope realistically to sustain any body blows on the path to 20. With all of those reportedly seeking the nomination apparently reliant on Nolan as a centrepiece of their 20, her support will therefore be seen as an early coup for the Steen campaign.
In a statement, Maria Steen told Gript that:
“I very much welcome and am grateful for the support of Deputy Carol Nolan. The power of nomination is held by TDs, Senators, and Councillors and is designed to act as a filter. But it is the people who elect the President, and it is heartening to see a TD who is prepared to give the people the opportunity to vote for a truly independent candidate. I will continue to work hard to secure a nomination in the weeks ahead, so that the people might be given a real choice on October 25th”.