Bertie Ahern, former Taoiseach and former leader of Fianna Fail.RollingNews.ie
Bertie Ahern has said that Micheál Martin is "anti-me" as he ruled himself out of the Presidential race.
The former Taoiseach spoke about potentially seeking a nomination from his former party for the Presidential election next month — but Fianna Fáil are leaning more toward former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin as their nominee for the party, with Mr. Martin adding that he wouldn’t vote for Mr. Ahern, even if he were the party’s nominee.
Admitting that he probably won’t be Fianna Fáil’s nominee, Mr. Ahern also ruled out running as an independent, and had some choice words about current Taoiseach Micheál Martin, saying that he’s "anti-me" and spoke about the Mahon Tribunal.
"I suppose [Micheál Martin] saw in his view that there was a candidate 20 years younger and somebody from outside the party," Mr. Ahern said in a message to his supporters.
"In all my time in Fianna Fáil, I’ve never seen a period where the leadership really lose out in these things."
Mr. Ahern added that he wouldn’t be seeking a nomination as an independent, saying that "as a former leader of the party, I respect Fianna Fáil and its legacy far too much to even consider that independent idea. I’ve always been a Fianna Fáil person."
Mr. Ahern then criticised the current Taoiseach, saying that Mr. Martin was against him running for the Presidency under the Fianna Fáil banner due to the Mahon Tribunal and the 2008 crash.
"I suppose the only area where [Mr. Martin] has indicated in the past why he was anti-me was the Mahon Tribunal and the economy," Mr. Ahern said.
"I don’t think we can say too much about the economy because we were all in it together, trying to make sure the economy was the best we could.
"The reality is that the economy from ’97 to today has grown practically nearly every year bar the years of the international recession which was a worldwide recession."
Two people are currently in the running for Fianna Fáil’s nomination for the Presidency — former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin, and MEP Billy Kelleher — with nominations set to close at 5 pm on Friday evening (September 5).
Mr. Gavin is the clear frontrunner for the party, with 31 endorsements from Fianna Fáil TDs, Senators, and MEPs — including Mr. Martin himself — while Mr. Kelleher has five endorsements.
An internal contest will take place on Tuesday morning (September 9), with the two nominees addressing Fianna Fáil members of the Oireachtas before a secret ballot takes place.
It’s expected that Fianna Fáil will have their nominee by lunchtime on Tuesday.
There are two official nominees in the race to replace Michael D Higgins later this year — independent TD Catherine Connolly and Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys.
Others who have said that they will seek the nomination or who haven’t ruled themselves out include Sir Bob Geldof, disgraced UFC fighter Conor McGregor, and former RTÉ weather presenter Joanne Donnelly.
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.