FINE GAEL’S ALAN Shatter has lost his seat in the Dublin Rathdown constituency.
The former justice minister lost out to the deputy leader of the Green Party Catherine Martin. She is the first Green Party member to be elected.
Fine Gael’s Josepha Madigan also won a seat in the constituency.
This is yet another blow to the Fine Gael party as Fianna Fáil surges ahead.
Shatter was first elected to the Dáil in 1981 and served until 2002 when he lost his seat.
He was re-elected in 2007 and was appointed as Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister forDefence in 2011. However, he resigned in 2014 following the publication of the Guerin report.
Speaking to RTÉ, Shatter said he didn’t agree with Fine Gael’s vote management policy in Dublin Rathdown.
“It is a disappointment we didn’t succeed in getting the two seats,” he said.
Earlier this month, in an interview with TheJournal.ie, the former minister was asked if it rankles with him that he’ll be remembered as a controversial and divisive justice minister.
His reply:
Stuff happens in politics.
While his political career looked over after he lost his seat in 2002, he regained it five years later. He was also thought to be in danger of not winning the party’s nomination for the election this time around – but he did.
He had aspirations of returning to the main table, stating:
I don’t think there’s a politician on any side of the Dáil who doesn’t aspire to be in cabinet.
He even tried some unusual election tactics to seek re-election. As an avid tennis fan, he sought to capture his constituents attention with his campaign tennis balls.
Shatter has produced the colourful bouncy balls, with the slogan ‘Shatter is on the ball’, for every election he has fought going right back to the 1980s.
However, his balls weren’t enough this time and his elimination tonight most likely marks the end of his political career.
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