McDonnell to declare for SDLP Leadership today
South Belfast MP and MLA, Dr. Alasdair McDonnell is to officially announce his intention to seek the leadership of the SDLP at a press conference. The current Deputy Leader of the party will be the second candidate to declare following the decision by SDLP Minister and South Down MLA Margaret Ritchie to seek the leadership.
Dr. McDonnell, in the Irish Times today, says that he will “present himself as ‘the right leader at the right time’. He intends to concentrate on two main issue; namely the organisational reform and party finances. He believes that the SDLP can no longer ‘accept a secondary position behind Sinn Féin and the DUP’
McDonnell is a former member of Fianna Fáil from his time studying medicine in UCD and is seen as being to the forefront of the Fianna Fáil wing of the SDLP. It will be interesting to see if Alban Maginnis endorses McDonnell as expected. Maginnis is seen as being one of the leading lights of the Labour wing of the party. Having said that, Minister Ritchie is not that hostile to Fianna Fáil and did me a favour and came to debate with me and Minister Noel Dempsey in Meath in 2006.
I’d be interested to hear the views of my many SDLP friends on the above…
An Saoránach 
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