The electorate has lost faith in the main political parties and are looking for alternatives, former Green MEP Patricia McKenna claimed today.
Speaking at her European election campaign launch in Dublin this morning Ms McKenna said that people need a strong independent voice to speak out on their behalf.
Ms McKenna, who is standing as an independent candidate, became Ireland’s first Green Party MEP in 1994 when she was elected in Dublin. She lost the seat in the 2004 election.
She failed to be elected in the Dublin Central constituency in the last general election and lost out to Mr Gormley by a two-to-one majority in a vote to replace Trevor Sargent as party leader in July 2007.
Ms McKenna admitted she had an uphill struggle in trying to regain a European seat, especially given that Ireland’s representation in the Brussels and Strasbourg-based parliament is to be cut by one seat from 13 to 12 with Dublin reduced from a four to a three-seater constituency.
Ms McKenna said that her self-funded campaign “would likely be the least expensive European campaign in the capital but added that she believed it was important to provide an alternative to voters.
“Dublin has traditionally elected party political representatives and it would be interesting to see an independent voice coming from the capital. We have an independent voice in the West and in the South and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t have one in Dublin as well,” she said.
Earlier this month Ms McKenna quit the Green Party after being a member for 25 years over its performance in Government. Ms McKenna accused the party of “selling out” after entering into coalition with Fianna Fáil.
Speaking this morning, Ms McKenna said she wished to move on from her time with the Green Party and stressed she would be appealing to all voters across the political divide during her campaign.
