Aha, so Slugger was right. Martin is going to run in Foyle, and no doubt will be carrying the flag for the party’s now by routine decapitation strategy on the SDLP.
Sinn Fein’s residual electoral strength means that its top players don’t actually require a presence in their own constituencies (which is a huge advantage when all the smaller party leaders have to work hard just to keep their seats).
So Mr McGuinness comes back to represent a constituency he never actually left, seeking to pressurise the SDLP machine – who need to defend three seats against both Sinn Fein and People Before Profit candidates – in hopes of weakening its efforts elsewhere.
I assume that yesterday’s hastily got out ‘overtures’ were some kind of effort to soften the unionist vote in the city, ahead of the election…
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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