PD leader in 7 weeks

THE Progressive Democrats will have a leader in seven weeks’ time, after the party’s national executive agreed election arrangements for the post last night.

Nominations for candidates will close on March 5 and voting will take place by postal ballot with the winner to be announced on April 16, by which time the party will have been under the acting leadership of Mary Harney for about a year.

Ms Harney stood down from the post in September 2006 to concentrate on her responsibilities as Minister for Health but had to return to the helm in an acting capacity when her successor Michael McDowell lost his seat in last May’s general election. So far just two party members, Senators Fiona O’Malley and Ciaran Cannon, have declared their intention to contest the leadership and they were only able to put forward their names after a rule change agreed last Saturday.