SENATOR FIONA O'Malley has launched her campaign for leadership of the Progressive Democrats with a pledge that, if successful, she would run fewer "big-name" election candidates and engage in closer consultation with the grass-roots.
The former Dún Laoghaire TD told a press conference yesterday in the party's Dublin headquarters that under her leadership, the PDs would "no longer operate as a top-down party".
Asked if this was an implicit criticism of previous leaders, including her father, Des, who attended the press conference, she said that amid the "huge enthusiasm" surrounding the foundation of the PDs, there wasn't a real opportunity to "nurture" the party at constituency level.
Asked if she would have a different style from previous leaders, she said they were all "very strong individuals and political heavyweights" but it was time for a change.
"We need to move away from that focus, singularly on the individual. What I would seek to do now is focus more on the organisation and having a team at the top that would stimulate activity within the party," she said.
She denied that her father's attendance at the press conference meant he would be campaigning actively on her behalf: "I don't think that would be fair. He's here in a personal capacity today as my father."
Denying she was a reluctant candidate, she said the only factor causing her to hesitate was the length of the leadership election campaign. Nominations close today, with Ms O'Malley and Ciarán Cannon, also a senator, expected to be the only candidates. The result of the postal ballot will not be announced until April 16th.
In the past, the PDs had been "a parliamentary party rather than a political party" and there was an "over-reliance" on big-name candidates who were a "poor substitute" for local activists who made their way through the ranks.
The PDs have 26 local councillors and if elected she would be setting a target of about 40 in next year's local elections. She hoped to stand in Dublin South at the next general election, since the areas which gave her strongest support - Foxrock, Cabinteely and Leopardstown - had been moved there from Dún Laoghaire by the Boundary Commission.
"More than any other political organisation, our electoral performance has felt like a roller-coaster, huge highs and deep, deep lows."
She added: "We've had a most powerful influence on the direction Ireland has taken, far above anything Labour or Fine Gael could dream of. Despite our small size, our reach is mighty."
If elected leader, would she confront Taoiseach Bertie Ahern about his personal finances? She replied that she would await the adjudication from the Mahon tribunal: "When that happens, then it's a different matter."
Assessing her prospects of victory, she said: "I would be confident, but I don't underestimate Ciarán, he's a great organiser and has a lot to contribute, so I certainly am taking nothing for granted."
Asked if she thought Mr Cannon would make a good leader, she replied: "I do - I would be a better one."
Recalling the year the PDs were founded, she said: "Compared to the despair of 1985, Ireland is now a wonderful place, a place where many people are choosing to live - a sure sign of confidence.
"But Ireland is not perfect and there is a real danger that a sense of complacency will prevent us from confronting new challenges.
"Other parties have now accepted the need for a liberal economy, but we also see the need for a liberal State, one that lets people get on with their lives, intervening only to correct failures. This has not been accepted by other political parties."
