PD Senator rejects call for coalition exit
Friday, 18 January 2008 22:09
One of the four PD members of the Oireachtas has criticised a call from party trustee Paul McKay for the Progressive Democrats to pull out of Government.
Senator Ciaran Cannon said there could be 'no place for negativity or solo runs' in relation to the party's future.
He pointed out that the decision to enter Government last summer was unanimous, and that the reasons for that decision are equally valid and compelling today.
Senator Cannon also said political decisions should not be based on events at the Mahon Tribunal when the tribunal has not made any findings or reported back to the Oireachtas.
He said party members were determined to put the disappointment of 2007 behind them and to move forward.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's Morning Ireland, Mr McKay said he thought the party had a future but that it was a decision for the PD membership.
'Hopefully most of them will have an appetite and a passion to continue. And if they don't have that, well then I'd hate to see the party linger on and die a slow death,' he said.
In a letter to members Mr McKay, who is a founding member, said the party had been aimless and rudderless for the past eight months, and was aligned in the Oireachtas with what he called a 'questionable political grouping'.
He argued the party was trapped and emasculated in Government, without a meaningful voice.
He wants an immediate leadership election, a withdrawal from what he calls the shackles of Government, and a commitment to avoid aligning with other parties with a track record of low standards in high places.
He says if this is not achievable in the short term, the party should be dissolved.
A PD spokesperson later said that Mr McKay is just one member of the party and his views reflect that.
The spokesperson added that many party members take part in the management of the party and they would not share the approach or the opinions of Mr McKay.
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