Apparently the rumours are true… We’ll see. The BBC reports that the International Representative for west Belfast, Gerry Adams, MP, MLA, is “expected to announce later that he intends running for the Irish parliament in the next election.”
As Gerry Adams said himself, “I think there is an issue that I do not stand for election in the south and I have a constituency in another jurisdiction.”
Update From the updated BBC report
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams is to step down as an MP and Stormont assembly member to stand for election in the Irish Republic.
He said he hoped to contest the Louth constituency, near the Irish border.
He said his Stormont replacement would be chosen this week, while he would remain as MP for West Belfast until the Irish general election is called.
Mr Adams said the main reasons for his surprise decision were the economic crisis and the need for new ideas.
And the crisis for the party and the need for new ideas?
From the BBC’s Ireland correspondent Mark Simpson
As the peace process has settled down in recent years, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has often looked bored.
There is no longer a new political crisis every week in Belfast. As a result, Mr Adams has a reduced workload and a much lower profile.
That may not be the main reason he has decided to run for the Irish parliament, but it may well be a factor.
While his right-hand man Martin McGuinness has, as deputy first minister, become the face of Sinn Fein at Stormont, Mr Adams has had a peripheral role.
He spends a lot of time south of the border, but as an unelected politician he is effectively shouting from the sidelines.
At 62, he has decided to try to re-invent himself. If elected he would try to lead a surge in support for Sinn Fein in the south.
If he loses, it could spell the end of his long political career.
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