'Consternation' claim over Mayo FG's four-candidate election strategy

Fine Gael's decision to run four candidates in the five-seater Mayo constituency has 'caused some consternation' within the party.

That's according to a report in the Irish Examiner.

The party announced yesterday that Martina Jennings and Mark Duffy had been added to the ticket, having previously selected Minister of Alan Dillon and Keira Keogh, who stood in last June's local elections in the Westport electoral area and seeking to win the Dáil seat being vacated by Deputy Michael Ring after his 30 years of service.

The newspaper quotes one party member as stating "there is a risk of fragmenting the vote and transfers not going between colleagues."

However, the strategy devised by the leadership is the one that must be followed, the report outlined, and "it will be up to the candidates themselves to do everything they can to maximise the vote."

The report continued: "The Fine Gael strategy to run multiple candidates in Mayo differs from the more conservative approach being taken by Fianna Fáil as seen in Wicklow, where the party decided to select one candidate, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.

"Speaking yesterday, Deputy Ring said he believes that where a party is running a single candidate, it is a sign they have 'thrown in the towel and they have no ambition for the party'."

Within Mayo, however, Fine Gael's strategy is regarded as a statement of intent in its bid to win three of the four seats.

And while it may cause some issues in regard to territories, it is not expected to lead to too much conflict between candidates due to their geographic locations in Castlebar, Ballina, Westport and south Mayo.