Latest news with #presidency
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill declines to rule out presidential run
Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill has declined to rule out a bid for the presidency . Asked on Friday if she was considering putting her name forward, Ms O'Neill replied: 'I am working my way through our deliberations as we speak.' The Sinn Féin vice-president said the party had not finalised its deliberations on the subject. 'I think I've plenty to do, being First Minister,' Ms O'Neill said at a press conference in Co Armagh . 'But I would think the fact remains that I could stand for election, I could be elected as Uachtarán na hÉireann, but I can't vote in that election, so that's where there's a deficit and what we need to see is presidential voting rights extended to the North so the Irish citizens in the North can vote.' READ MORE Separately on Friday, former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood told the BBC that people had asked him to consider standing for the presidency. 'I'm going to take the time to think about it,' Mr Eastwood said. While SDLP leader, Mr Eastwood was involved in talks with Fianna Fáil about closer co-operation between the parties, although no agreement was progressed. It is expected that should he run in the presidential election, it would be as a Fianna Fáil candidate. Taoiseach Micheál Martin was asked if Mr Eastwood might stand on his party's behalf but he said there had been 'no contact with me' and 'no engagement that I'm aware of with Fianna Fáil'. 'It hasn't been on the agenda at all, I was surprised when I heard that this morning,' Mr Martin said. [ Nobody wants the presidency and its €250k salary. Why? Opens in new window ] On Friday, Mr Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, and Cabinet members joined Ms O'Neill, Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly , and members of the Stormont Executive for a plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council in Armagh. Topics the meeting focused on included US tariffs and trade, potential co-operation on gender-based violence, mother and baby institutions and Magdalene laundries . It also addressed infrastructure projects and an air route between Derry and Dublin. . Ministers also discussed the redevelopment of Casement Park GAA stadium in Belfast, a project currently facing a funding shortfall. Last week the UK government said it would allocate £50 million (€59 million) to support the rebuild, with the Irish Government also set to contribute £50 million. However, even with other money from the GAA and Northern Ireland's Executive, the project is about £90 million (€105 million) short of what is required to develop a 34,000-seater stadium. A smaller ground could be built with the approximate £120 million available. At a press conference following the meeting, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and First Minister and Deputy First Minister were clear that now was the time to proceed. 'I think it is about not letting this moment pass,' Mr Harris said. 'Let's not look back in a number of years and see that this moment was squandered.' The Taoiseach said it was 'very important the moment is seized, when significant amounts of money are now on the table, that the stadium can be built here and can be developed'. Ms O'Neill said it was time for all partners involved to come together and find a way to start the work and complete the project. Meanwhile, Ms Little-Pengelly rejected comments by former taoiseach Leo Varadkar to the BBC on Thursday that Ireland was on a 'trajectory' towards unity . He said the most recent numbers show 'a very clear majority of younger people in Northern Ireland want there to be a new united Ireland'. Ms Little-Pengelly said he was 'entitled to reinvent himself in whatever way he so chooses, but he is wrong in terms of the trajectory … I don't accept that it is an inevitability'. Is Conor McGregor really the only person who wants to be President of Ireland? Listen | 19:19
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Awful, awful, awful': Polls show Trump's net approval is at its ‘worst'
When describing the aggregate polling around President Donald Trump, CNN host and analyst Harry Enten described the polling with one word: hurt. On Friday, Enten shared the latest polling from Quinnipiac University and Associated Press-NORC that show Trump's net approval down at minus 16 and minus 21, respectively. The numbers represent the difference between those who disapprove of Trump's handling of the presidency and those who approve. 'Awful, awful, awful for both of these pollsters,' Enten said. 'Where we are right now — both Quinnipiac and AP-NORC — the worst for Donald Trump in this term so far. He is very much, way, way, way underwater, at least in these two polls." Immigration continues to be a 'strength,' Enten said. But there's a caveat. 'You go back to June 1, he was at plus 4 points,' Enten said. 'Look at where he is now: minus 2 points in the aggregate. That is a drop of 6 points in only about two weeks time. The only thing that's happened over the last two weeks is obviously Donald Trump's ramped-up immigration, hawkish agenda.' 'The American people are saying, 'No, we do not like that,'' he continued. 'And they have turned against the president on his core strength issue of immigration, he is underwater on the issue that is strongest for him.' Quinnipiac also found that 38% of voters approve of Trump's administration, while AP-NORC found that 39% held a positive view of Trump's work during his second term. Quinnipiac was conducted among 1,265 self-identified registered voters between June 5 and 9, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8%. The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,158 adults between June 5 and 9, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. Since these polls were taken, protests broke out in Los Angeles after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids south of downtown. This led to violent clashes between Los Angeles police and protesters, along with daily protests across the region, Trump deploying the National Guard and the United States Marines and a growing war of words between the president and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Federal judge orders Trump admin to reinstate hundreds of NIH grants Northeastern governors, Canadian leaders huddle in Boston to talk trade, tariffs and Trump Federal judge delays decision over Trump admin barring Harvard foreign students Trump administration considers adding 36 countries to travel ban New poll shows Trump's approval is high on this major policy issue Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Board of Governors confirms Manny Diaz Jr. as interim University of West Florida president
The State University System's Board of Governors confirmed the appointment of Manny Diaz Jr., as interim president of the University of West Florida on Wednesday. Diaz will replace Martha Saunders, who announced her resignation May 12 following months of attacks on the university by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed several controversial picks to the university's Board of Trustees and warned of a bumpy road ahead for the university. Saunders had served as UWF's president since January 2017. All board members but one − Eric Silagy − voted in favor of confirmation. Silagy voiced concerns about Diaz's compensation package, the lack of a performance component in that package as well as a university succession plan. Silagy is the immediate past chairman of the Board of Governors and is president and CEO of Florida Power and Light Co. He also asked UWF Board Chair Rebecca Matthews if she tried to talk Saunders out of retiring or if she encouraged her to stay on as UWF president in an interim capacity. "She's (Saunders) clearly engaged, she loves UWF. She wants to stay engaged. Did you ever look at whether or not keeping her on just as interim, while you went through a search process? She knows the school so well, and she had a contract in place. And it would have been very easy to have her bridge that gap," Silagy said. Matthews said she honored Saunders's resignation letter − knowing that she would be helpful during the transition. Diaz's name quickly floated to the top of the pool of potential replacements. In an 8-2 vote on May 27, the university's Board of Trustees chose Diaz to fill the position left open by Saunders' resignation. On June 12, the university's Board of Trustees approved a $744,000 compensation package for Diaz, which includes a base salary of $643,000, along with provisions for housing and a vehicle and relocation allowances. Under the terms of the contract, Diaz will serve as interim president from July 14, 2025, until July 13, 2026. The Board of Trustees is conducting a search for a permanent president, and the agreement notes Diaz's term could be extended in the event the search fails. It's also possible that Diaz will apply for the job permanently. If so, and if he's picked, the GOP former state lawmaker will follow other former Florida elected officials into state university and college presidencies, such as former House speaker Richard Corcoran now at New College of Florida and former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez at Florida International University. Under Diaz's contract, his duties and powers are to "diligently devote his full professional time, ability, and attention to the day-to-day operations of UWF including, without limitation, all administrative, executive, and academic functions as required by this Agreement, law, rule, and regulation." A former state legislator from Hialeah in Miami-Dade County, Diaz served in the House from 2012 to 2018 and in the Senate from 2018 until 2022, when DeSantis recommended him as education commissioner and the Florida State Board of Education made it official. As education commissioner, Diaz oversees Florida's public education system, including 28 state colleges and nearly 3 million students across K–20 institutions, and manages a $27 billion annual education budget, according to his resume. Diaz will be University of West Florida's seventh president. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Manny Diaz confirmed as University of West Florida president by BOG
LBCI
2 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
France plans European 'initiative' to end Iran-Israel conflict: Presidency
France is planning along with European partners to suggest a negotiated solution to end the conflict between Iran and Israel, the country's presidency said Wednesday, after President Emmanuel Macron chaired a national security council meeting. Macron at the meeting ordered Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to draw up in the coming days "an initiative with close European partners that would propose a demanding negotiated settlement to put an end to the conflict," the presidency said in a statement, without giving details on the nature of the plan. AFP
New York Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
How the Trump Era Changed Trump
Ten years after a self-professed real estate tycoon and reality television star announced he was running for president, the country and its politics have irrevocably changed, my colleague Peter Baker wrote today. The man himself isn't quite the same, either. President Trump is still the attention-loving, payback-obsessed main character that he was in 2015. But he learned during his first term what glass he could break if he only had a hammer — while his four years out of office drove him to turn grievance into vengeance. To guide us through the way the Trump era has changed Trump, I Slacked the person who has chronicled his decade in more detail than just about anybody: my colleague Maggie Haberman. Our lightly edited conversation follows. The decade that's passed since Donald Trump came down the escalator and announced his first presidential run has changed the country enormously. You've covered every twist and turn along the way. How has this decade — with his rise, and fall and rise — changed Trump? In all of the big ways, Trump is very much the same person he was when he first announced, and for many decades before 2015. He is deeply focused on himself, on getting 'credit' — something he brought up in a Truth Social post over the weekend about Iran and Israel — and on dominating media coverage and his perceived rivals, and commanding financial advantage. He has always been interested in payback. But the experience of the Russia investigation in his initial term first began to harden his behaviors. Then, the four years out of office, which included indictments, a criminal conviction and two assassination attempts, have had a deeper effect on him than I think is always clear. What is that effect, and how has it shaped the first months of his second term? A couple of points stand out. One is, armed with the backing of a Supreme Court decision last year that granted him broad immunity for official acts, he is doing some of the things he wanted to during his first term, like maximizing official power — and testing what courts will let him get away with — to dismiss inspectors general and swaths of the bureaucracy, and to use the Justice Department openly as something of a personal law firm. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
