Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said she would “talk to everybody” after the next general election should opportunities to establish a coalition government.
Speaking to BBC Northern Ireland’s Sunday Politics programme, the Sinn Féin president said current rhetoric from major parties in Ireland is a “far cry” from their rejections to building a coalition with her party after the 2020 general election.
“At the time, I thought that was kind of farcical.
“I have invited people to imagine the opportunity for change and to make that real. A government without Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael for potentially the first time in a century, that would be mighty and momentous.
“I happen to think that that would equip us best to drive the kind of change we need.”
She added: “After the election, I will talk to everybody. Not out of deference to political parties but out of respect to the electorate – and because I think that’s what grown-ups do.”
However, Ms McDonald said her party has substantial differences with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
In a series of media interviews on Sunday, Ms McDonald also called for the referral of Israel to the International Criminal Court and the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador as part of pressure for a ceasefire.
Addressing the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, she told RTÉ radio: “In my view, the only way that we can guarantee anybody is safe, including the hostages, is for ceasefires.”
Asked about the party’s call to expel the ambassador, Ms McDonald added: “The issue of the ambassador is not an end in itself, all of this has to be with a precise focus in achieving ceasefire.”
Across multiple interviews, Ms McDonald defended the right of Sinn Féin politicians to sue media outlets as the party faced new criticism for taking legal action against the press.
She told RTÉ’s This Week: “The requirement that all of us operate within the law should not be sinister or intimidating to anybody.”
She said, generally, approaches to media outlets will be made before legal action is taken.
Ms McDonald said neither she nor the party were informed about a Sinn Féin politician’s decision to sue an individual journalist personally.
“The objective of this should never be to personalise it to an individual,” she added.
A minister in the current coalition Government said suing the media is “not the first lever a politician should pull”.
Also appearing on the broadcast media circuit on Sunday, Simon Harris said he believes lawsuits against the media carried out by Sinn Féin have had a “chilling effect” on potential press coverage of the party.
The Fine Gael TD told Newstalk radio: “This, a party [Sinn Féin] that is leading in the opinion polls. If they’re a party that wishes to be in government, you got to get ready for a bit of scrutiny.
“That’s what happens in Irish politics and like I’m saying, of course people have a right to go to the courts, there’s no doubt about that – that’s an absolutely right in democracy, but doesn’t mean it’s a lever you have to pull.
“And it certainly shouldn’t be pulled lightly or as frequently as it seems to be by some parties.”
Mr Harris said the Fine Gael party position is “extraordinarily clear” that it would not enter into a coalition with Sinn Féin after the next election.
The further education minister also criticised Sinn Féin’s plans for the housing sector in an appearance on RTÉ’s The Week In Politics.
Ms McDonald had told that programme about 50,000 new homes need to be delivered every year.
Mr Harris described Ms McDonald’s comments as an “absolute masterclass in terms of telling you the problem but not answering the question” of what the party would do to address housing.
Also setting out the Government position on the Hamas-Israel conflict, he told the same programme that the situation in Gaza has “become a war on children”.
“The absolute priority for this government – and I think this country has led on this – is to call for an immediate ceasefire.”
He said expelling the ambassador would result in the expulsion of Ireland’s ambassador in Israel “at a time when we need to keep communication open” due to Irish citizens still being in Gaza.
