Who would you rather see as Fine Gael's presidential nominee?
TÁNAISTE AND FINE Gael leader Simon Harris has confirmed that his party will open presidential nominations will open in early July.
Seán Kelly MEP has said that he has not made a final decision on seeking a nomination,
but the expectation is that he will.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, former European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness has not ruled out running.
Some party sources have said that
she is 'everywhere', suggesting that she is actively building support.
Harris previously told
The Journal
that he believes an internal contest for the presidential bid 'could be healthy'.
So, today we're asking you:
Who would you rather see as the Fine Gael presidential candidate?
Poll Results:
Mairead McGuinness
(177)
Someone else (let us know in the comments)
(78)
Seán Kelly
(47)
Seán Kelly
Mairead McGuinness
Someone else (let us know in the comments)
Vote
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Irish politicians attend huge banned Budapest Pride event as Victor Orbán threatens ‘legal consequences' to marchers
They were among a record number of people expected to attend the event, despite Mr Orbán threatening there would be 'legal consequences' for organisers and attendees. More than 100,000 people are thought to have attended the event which saw large parts of central Budapest overtaken by the movement. Mr O'Gorman and MEPs Maria Walsh and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú were in the crowd marching through the Hungarian capital today. Those in attendance 'face the possibility of arrest, a fine of up to €500 and imprisonment of up to one year under Hungarian law,' said Ms Walsh, who urged any Irish citizens intending on travelling to Budapest to be on 'high alert'. The Fine Gael MEP described the decision to ban Pride marches in Hungary as a 'frightening step backwards for members of the LGBTQI+ community across Europe'. 'I am proud to be marching in Budapest Pride this weekend. In a year when Orbán has classified public displays of love within my own community as a child protection issue, we must all fight back." The Hungarian government enacted a hugely controversial so-called 'child protection' law in 2021 that prohibits the "depiction or promotion' of homosexuality to children under the age of 18. A bill was also passed by the parliament that makes it illegal to hold any public gatherings that breached that law, with further legislation effectively banning Pride events. The European Court of Human Rights has previously ruled in a case involving Russia that banning such events breaches human rights protections. Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, who will attend the march today, described the banning of Pride as a 'blatant attack on our civil liberties with the European Union'. She backed calls for the European Commission to intervene, including requesting interim measures in the ongoing infringement procedure against Hungary's 2021 anti-LGBTQ+ law. "The Hungarian Government's repeated violations of the rule of law and EU treaty principles is setting a dangerous precedent.' Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who was in Hungary for a conference earlier this week, said the atmosphere in Budapest has been 'tense' in the days ahead of the march. He told RTÉ's Drivetime that while he expects Hungarian authorities will not use 'batons and tear gas on tens of thousands of people' as 'the world would see that', the Green Party mayor of the city could be prosecuted and facial recognition technology will be used to identify attendees and fine them. "This is very oppressive, this is all contrary to European law, by the way, so I think there's a role for the European Union to play here in overturning some of these laws.' It comes as tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in Dublin's Pride parade today.
RTÉ News
5 hours ago
- RTÉ News
EU plans to buy carbon credits to meet climate targets
The European Commission is set to propose counting carbon credits bought from other countries towards the European Union's 2040 climate target, a commission document seen by Reuters shows. The commission is due to propose a legally binding EU climate target for 2040 on 2 July. The EU executive had initially planned a 90% net emissions cut, against 1990 levels, but in recent months has sought to make this goal more flexible. This in response to pushback from governments, including Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic, concerned about the cost. An internal commission summary of the upcoming proposal, seen by Reuters, said the EU would be able to use "high quality international credits" from a UN-backed carbon credits market to meet 3% of the emissions cuts towards the 2040 goal. The document said the credits would be phased in from 2036 and that additional EU legislation would later set out the origin and quality criteria that the credits must meet alongside details of how they would be purchased. The move would in effect ease the emissions cuts - and the investments required - from European industries needed to hit the 90% emissions cutting target. For the share of the target met by credits, the EU would buy "credits" from projects that reduce CO2 emissions abroad - for example, forest restoration in Brazil - rather than reducing emissions in Europe. Proponents say these credits are a crucial way to raise funds for CO2 cutting projects in developing nations. But recent scandals have shown some credit generating projects did not deliver the climate benefits they claimed. The document said the commission will add other flexibilities to the 90% target, as Brussels attempts to contain resistance from governments struggling to fund the green transition alongside priorities including defence and industries - who say ambitious environmental regulations impede their competitiveness. These include integrating credits from projects that remove CO2 from the atmosphere into the EU's carbon market so that European industries can buy these credits to offset some of their own emissions, the document said. The draft would also give countries more flexibility on which sectors in their economy do the heavy lifting to meet the 2040 goal, "to support the achievement of targets in a cost-effective way". A commission spokesperson declined to comment on the upcoming proposal, which could still change before it is published next week.
RTÉ News
5 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Budapest Pride parade will go ahead despite ban
Budapest's mayor Gergely Karácsony has said that tomorrow's Budapest Pride parade will go ahead as planned despite a ban by Hungarian authorities. Speaking at a press conference this afternoon at Budapest City Hall, Mr Karácsony said that Hungary had become a "laboratory" for "breaking down" democracy over the past 15 years, a reference to Fidesz party rule since 2010. "If, in a European member country, a Pride march can be banned, then no European voters can feel safe," said Mr Karácsony, a member of the Hungarian Green Party. "This case belongs to all of Europe and has become a European affair, and no one can be a second class citizen in Hungary and the European Union," he added. Mr Karácsony said that more than 30 countries will be represented by MEPs and national politicians at tomorrow's parade, which will start at 2pm local time. He argued that events organised by municipalities are not subject to Hungary's amended Assembly Law, the act used by the government to ban this year's Pride. Joining Mr Karácsony at the press conference, European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib said that she had come to Hungary "to uphold our European values of dignity and humanity". "Over decades we have built our union, a European home, brick by brick and we will defend it brick by brick," said Ms Lahbib, adding that "all eyes were on Budapest" this weekend. Speaking on Hungarian public radio this morning, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said there would be "legal consequences" for those who organise and attend the parade. "It is not the job of the police to use physical force, but to persuade people to follow the law," said Mr Orban. "Of course, there are cases when the police must use force, for instance against criminals, but that is not what this is about". Budapest Pride ban at centre of Viktor Orbán's culture war The parade is expected to be attended by tens of thousands of members of Hungary's LGBTQ+ community tomorrow as it is every year. Adam Kanicsár, a 35-year-old Hungarian LGBTQ+ activist and journalist, says all his friends have "a plan B" to leave Hungary if the current Christian-conservative government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wins the country's parliamentary election next year. "What we have learnt in Hungary is that there is a new bottom line every day," Mr Kanicsár told RTÉ News from his home in Budapest. For him, last week's decision by Budapest police to ban tomorrow's annual Pride parade in the city marks a "new low point" for Mr Orbán's Fidesz party, which has governed Hungary since 2010. Mr Kanicsár plans to attend Pride tomorrow with friends, along with many other thousands of people from Hungary's LGBTQ+ community who intend to defy the ban on the annual parade, celebrating its 30th edition this year. By banning the parade, Budapest police say they are enforcing an amendment to Hungary's Assembly Act, passed last March by the Hungarian parliament where Fidesz has a two-thirds majority. It is expected that more than 70 MEPs will attend tomorrow's parade in Budapest in support of Hungary's LGBTQ+ community. European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib and Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Michael O'Flaherty, will attend. Green Party Roderic O'Gorman will also travel to the Hungarian capital for the parade to support its organisers, including the mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony, who is a member of the Hungarian Green Party. "I think it's really important to show solidarity in light of the seriousness of what's happening with the banning of a Pride parade," Mr O'Gorman said. "We've seen the Hungarian government chip away at the rights of the LGBT+ community over the last number of years and they've used the same kind of playbook that we've seen far-right authoritarian regimes use elsewhere, linking restrictions to the LGBT+ community with child protection," he added. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr O'Gorman said he was invited by the mayor of Budapest, who is a member of the Hungarian Green party. He said: "Interestingly, while the national government have banned the Pride Parade, they've given permission to a number of far right organisations, and one paramilitary organisation to make counter demonstrations across the city. So I think it kind of shows what their what their priorities are". Last month, Ireland was one of 20 EU member states to sign a joint statement accusing Hungary of contravening fundamental EU values by passing laws that target LGBTQ+ people. A potential ban on Pride was first mentioned by Mr Orbán in late February, during his annual state of the union address, when he said that Pride organisers should "not bother preparing for this year's parade". The bill, passed by parliament in March and signed into law in April, made it illegal to hold public assemblies that breach Hungary's Child Protection Law from 2021, an act that prohibits the depiction or promotion of homosexuality and gender transition to minors across all forms of content, including films, books and advertisements. The 2021 law, also dubbed the 'propaganda law', was widely criticised by Hungary's liberal opposition and human rights NGOs in Hungary and across Europe as anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. In order to copper-fasten the Assembly Law amendment, last April, parliament also passed amendments to Hungary's Fundamental Law, the country's constitution, outlining that the rights of a child "take precedence over all other fundamental rights, except the right to life". That change meant that Hungary's legal definition of children's rights superseded the right to assembly, effectively banning Pride events. "The 'propaganda law' only limited freedom of speech but now the right of assembly is also affected," said Dr Eszter Polgári, a lawyer at the Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ+ advocacy group. Fidesz advocates for a traditional, conservative family model. Civil union between same-sex couples has been recognised in Hungary since 2009, though the constitution recognises marriage as "the union of one man and one woman". In 2020, Hungary's parliament voted to limit adoption to married couples, preventing gay couples from adopting children. That same year, the government introduced legislation that banned legal gender recognition for people wishing to have their gender identity recognised as different from their gender at birth. Taking stock of his party's record in government during his state of the nation address in February, Mr Orbán said: "We have given the country a new, Christian, national constitution, we have protected ourselves from migration, we have protected our children from gender activists". It is unclear how Budapest police will approach tomorrow's parade given that organisers and the LGBTQ+ community are determined to hold the parade as usual. "Most likely the police will announce that this is a prohibited march but it's more problematic for the organisers," said Ms Polgári. Hungarian police will not have the right to arrest people for attending the parade but they will have the authority to issue fines of between €15 and €500. Those fines, said Ms Polgári, would be issued for participating in an assembly that is prohibited under the Assembly Act. Hungarian police can also use facial recognition technology to identify those who attend. "It's not just about the LGBTQ rights and culture, but it's really about freedom of speech, and it's really about our freedom," said Mr Kanicsár. "If they can ban Pride, and ban people from coming to the street and making their voices heard, then they can ban it for every situation." The stakes are even higher for the parade organisers, which include Budapest Pride, an NGO that organises the event annually and Budapest city hall, represented by the mayor, Mr Karácsony. They could face up to one year in prison for defying the ban. Mr Karácsony has insisted that the parade will go ahead, stating that Pride does not require a permit because it is a municipal event. Speaking yesterday at an International Human Rights Conference at Budapest's Central European University to mark the 30th anniversary of Budapest Pride, Mr Karácsony said tomorrow's parade "has one real source of law, one legal and moral basis, and this is called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Budapest Pride is urging participants not to accept the fine given by police at the first attempt, and advised attendees that fines can be appealed at a later date. For its part, Hungary's government has signalled that it wants to avoid violent confrontations at the event. On Wednesday, the country's minister for transport János Lázár told Hungarian independent news outlet 444 that the law "does not have to be enforced at the cost of violence". Earlier this week, 33 embassies in Budapest, including the Embassy of Ireland, signed a joined statement in support of Budapest Pride and Hungary's LGBTIQ+ community. In response, Hungarian justice minister Bence Tuzson wrote a letter to EU ambassadors and their staff at embassies in Budapest not to attend the event. In the letter, seen by AFP, Mr Tuzson wrote that Pride was a "legally banned assembly". For much of the past decade, Fidesz has clashed with the EU over its opposition to migrant relocation quotas, the independence of the Hungarian judiciary and media freedoms in a country where the media market is dominated by pro-government outlets. Hungary has also opposed the consensus view in the EU to support Ukraine's bid to join the bloc, using its veto to delay funding packages for Kyiv while maintaining close political and economies ties with Moscow. On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen released a video on X, calling on Hungarian authorities to allow Pride to go ahead, much to the ire of Mr Orbán, no stranger to clashes with the EU. "Dear Madam President, I urge the European Commission to refrain from interfering in the law enforcement affairs of Member States, where it has no role to play," wrote Mr Orbán in response. The standoff over Pride comes at a time when Fidesz is facing the toughest challenge yet during its 15 years in government. A poll by Hungarian pollster Medián last week put the centre-right opposition party Tisza, led by former Fidesz ally Péter Magyar, between 10 and 15 percentage points ahead of Fidesz. Mr Magyar has so far stayed away from commenting on the Pride ban, perhaps conscious that supporting the LGBTQ+ movement could reduce his chances of gaining the support of more conservative voters ahead of next year's pivotal parliamentary election. RTÉ News contacted the Hungarian government's international communication office with questions regarding the decision to ban this year's parade. In response, the office emailed a post on X from earlier this week by Zoltan Kovacs, Hungary's Secretary of State for International Communication, which read: "This year's @budapestpride is being organized in violation of Hungarian law—despite a binding decision by the Curia, Hungary's supreme court, which banned the march citing child protection concerns." "As always, we remain committed to protecting Hungarian children from LGBTQ propaganda." However, there is evidence that the views of a majority of Hungarians towards LGBTQ+ issues are more liberal. A study conducted by the Háttér Society in November 2023 found than 72% of Hungarians agree that same-sex couples can be good parents. It also found that 73% of those polled would allow transgender people to change their gender and name on their official documents. Whether tomorrow's banned parade becomes a defining moment in Hungarian politics will only become clear in the months ahead. Its impact may just be limited to liberal Budapest and other cities. But Fidesz's move to ban Pride has already turned the event into a mass protest about freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, and that in itself will be hard for the ruling party to shrug off entirely. "Saturday will be a historic event," said Mr Kanicsár. "It will be a really big act of democracy."
