Fine Gael adjourns convention amid anger at national directive

Fine Gael was last week forced to adjourn its selection convention for the Athlone area of Westmeath County Council when delegates refused to vote on a directive from the Executive Council of the party. Four candidates were hoping to get their name on the ticket, but the Executive Council informed the packed house at the Sheraton Hotel that only three names were to make it onto the ticket; one of whom had to be a woman and one of whom had to be from Moate. This would see sitting councillor Joe Whelan and first-time candidate Gabrielle McFadden automatically chosen on the ticket, while sitting councillors Mark Cooney and John Dolan would be left to battle it out for the remaining place. But this did not sit well with the 300 or so present at the meeting, who were unwilling to vote on this basis, instead seeking an open vote to select the three candidates. Some delegates also felt that all four candidates should contest the election and as things became heated Cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council Joe Whelan offered to withdraw his nomination, but this was not accepted. Cllr Whelan said this week he had made the offer in the interest of party unity, but the delegates weren"t happy that he should withdraw from the race. 'I believe the best strategy is to run three candidates, but at this stage I don"t see any solution other than to run four,' he said. He added that the seat held in the rural part of the constituency would be the most vulnerable and said that while opinion polls in the national media showed an increase in support for the party, the dynamic of local elections was different to general elections. 'Regardless of what happens at the moment I know I have a challenge ahead of me to retain my seat for Fine Gael. In the interest of party unity and in terms of getting my campaign on the road the fairest decision would be to run four candidates,' he said.. He explained however that the councillors were not involved in the decision making of the Executive Council. Cllr Mark Cooney said the Executive Council had issued a directive and such directives were not issued lightly. He added that it was not uncommon that people disagreed with directives that came to convention. 'There was considerable opposition to the directive as people felt it unduly limited their choice,' he said. He added that the Executive Council would now decide if there was to be another convention, but if the same directive applied he couldn"t see any merit in holding a second convention. 'They are trying to strike a balance between total open democracy and the party having a say. Fine Gael is the same as any other party in that the Executive Council will have the final say, but at least we hold conventions,' he said. Cllr John Dolan said that the feeling at the meeting from delegates was that they wanted an open vote. He said the Executive Council would now meet to decide whether to add on one or two of the remaining candidates. 'I hope, as a sitting councillor, I"d be favoured in that. From day one all I wanted was an open vote and let the best people be picked, but that"s within the remit of the Executive as well,' he said, adding that he didn"t know what the Executive would decide. Cllr Dolan added that he had been inundated with support over the weekend and had received 60 phone calls on Saturday alone. 'I"m very appreciative of that support. I have worked hard during my time as a councillor and that was voiced on Friday night. We"re awaiting the decision of the Executive Council. From day one I"ve never seen any reason why four candidates can"t be put forward, especially with the way things are going nationally,' he said. Gabrielle McFadden said she had a good working relationship with all three councillors and would be happy to work with the three of them or two of them, whatever the case may be. 'I don"t want to be singled out as a female, I"m all for equality, but I know Fine Gael has done research and I came out well in that research. The ultimate goal is to get as many seats on the council as possible and that would help Nicky get elected next time out,' she said. She added that while it was disappointing how the convention had turned out on Friday night, it was positive that there were so many people who were ready to come out and fight for the party and ready for the election. She said she didn"t know what the outcome would be and her heart went out to Mark Cooney and John Dolan with their predicament, but she had declared her intention to run and she still wanted to run and be elected to represent the people of Athlone on Westmeath County Council. PRO Gilbert Barrington said: 'The Executive Council is taking it under advisement and we expect a decision within ten days.'