'Public appetite is for change,' says Mary Lou McDonald
Mary Lou McDonald: 'Now is the time for change and the momentum for change is behind us.' Photo: Sam Boal/Collin Photos
The older establishment parties are desperately clinging to the narrative that the options for voters this Friday are them or nothing, Mary Lou McDonald has said.
The Sinn Féin leader said while this election campaign began with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael assuming they had a home run and would waltz back into power, polls now reflect that there is an appetite for a world beyond these two parties.
"Now is the time for change and the momentum for change is behind us," she said.
In her last pitch to voters, Ms McDonald asked voters not only to give Sinn Féin their top preferences but to then transfer left saying: "I think we can identify parties like the Social Democrats that we would share ideas on housing and other policies, People Before Profit candidates of the left and some independents."
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Aside from re-asserting that Sinn Féin would like to lead a government that does not include the two main parties, Ms McDonald said that they will talk to any of the smaller parties and independents who are on the left and share progressive views.
Buoyed by recent polls showing Sinn Féin neck-and-neck with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, Ms McDonald predicted that if people, especially young people, come out and vote on Friday then "we can have a really, really significant day out".
She accused the Taoiseach of using scaremonger tactics around the potential shocks to the economy to try and gain votes — calling it a mark of desperation.
"I think he, like us, recognises that momentum for change. He recognises that the momentum for change is behind Sinn Féin and he knows that to change the government, Sinn Féin have to drive that.
"The reality on the ground is people are not getting the disability services they require; carers who feel disrespected, left behind and unheard; young people who cannot afford rent and have no prospect of owning a home; and a rural community that feels utterly disrespected by the outgoing government," Ms McDonald said.
If Sinn Féin do not perform as they are hoping on Friday and end up back in opposition, Ms McDonald rubbished the suggestion that she may step down as leader saying: "I'm only getting started."
