Copyright sluggerotoole
I have always had an immense reverence for the role of President, seeing in it the triumph of the Irish system of government as one of the best ways of running a proper democracy. Better than the American system which combines head of government and head of state into one office, where the foremost partisan politician is also tasked with uniting the people. Better than the pot luck of a hereditary monarch, where for every Queen Elizabeth II you have a King Edward VIII (and even a Queen Elizabeth can lead to the grotesque spectacle of a Prince Andrew). The Irish model, of an elected President who is supposed to stand above the fray and represent the whole nation, is the ideal to me. Because the Irish people choose their representative in an election, the opportunity to choose the best of us is entirely within the power of the electorate. Well…almost entirely. The system is not entirely open after all. To stand for President you need a certain level of political backing from elected representatives down south. If you don’t meet the requirement, you don’t get to stand, which Conor McGregor found to his detriment. Excluding McGregor is an example of the system working but the system can be used by southern parties to exclude candidacies that may threaten their preferred candidates going into the election, narrowing choice. The result was that as the nomination process unfolded, it became clearer and clearer that the field of nominees was getting smaller and smaller until by the end of it, we had three choices…and then two after the Jim Gavin campaign spectacularly imploded. And now there is one. From the moment the ballot boxes were opened this morning, the direction of travel was clear (though the level of spoiled ballots, in some cases outnumbering votes cast for Heather Humphreys, indicates that there was profound dissatisfaction with the choices on offer). With Heather Humphreys underperforming it was clear this was going to be Catherine Connolly’s day. She will soon be confirmed as the tenth President of the Republic of Ireland (or she may already be so confirmed, depending on when you are reading this). Heather Humphreys began the campaign as a putative favourite, yet she has fallen short to the point that the Irish Times had a post-mortem ready to go today and highlights that Humphreys seemed motivated on reaching out to the hardcore Fine Gael vote already voting for her… “This time around, the Humphreys campaign against Independent rival Catherine Connolly seemed to focus on sending her out to shake hands with the roughly 20 per cent of Ireland that already votes for Fine Gael. The narrow focus appeared to cost the party dearly as early tallies from the counting of votes on Saturday showed that Connolly was on course for a resounding victory over Humphreys. During the campaign, there were entire days when reporters following Humphreys wouldn’t see her encounter a single undecided voter.” Another factor cited was that as the candidate of one of the two major governing parties, Humphreys was going to receive a backlash from those who wished to give the government a bloody nose. And, sadly, there are some for whom her Unionist background, including links to the Orange Order, will have been a negative with some. She herself commented on it today, saying … “My family and I, but especially my family, were subject to some absolutely awful sectarian abuse and I was disappointed because as a country I thought we had moved on from that,” she said. “I do think there needs to be a greater understanding of other traditions in this country and perhaps that’s something that maybe I can contribute towards, because there’s a lot of misunderstanding out there and if we’re ever to have a united Ireland we have to respect all traditions.” Whilst many had wondered if having Humphreys as President during a forthcoming border poll could have been spun as a positive, her failure (and gutter reporting during the campaign) will surely be used by those opposed to reunification as a negative. Whilst I don’t believe her background was a factor in her failure, some did make an issue of it and disgraced themselves by doing so. Humphreys loss will undoubtedly prompt soul searching within Fine Gael, just as the Jim Gavins debacle prompted recriminations within Fianna Fáil. Sinn Féin on the other hand is ecstatic today, with Suzanne Breen explaining how the party’s strategy for this election has paid off in last week’s Belfast Telegraph, especially considering that the party spent so much time publicly agonising over whether to run Mary-Lou McDonald (even when that suggestion made no sense to me. Had McDonald run, a loss would have crippled her politically whereas a win would have removed her from contention to be the next Taoiseach and leadership of her party). As Breen writes “Sinn Fein has played a blinder. Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and many in the media mocked Mary Lou McDonald for promising a “game-changer” announcement on the Irish presidential election which turned out to be the decision not to run. But McDonald’s words have lived up to the expectation they created. Her party choosing to back Catherine Connolly has been truly transformative…As the largest party in that alliance, Sinn Fein has cemented its position as the undisputed leader of the Opposition. The ground is laid for it being the dominant partner in a left-wing coalition at the next Dáil election with McDonald unchallengeable as the alternative taoiseach.” With both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael having suffered wounds due to unforced errors made as a result of this election, coming out on top is quite the fillip for the Irish left and, as Breen emphasises, Sinn Féin is the dominant force within the Irish left now. The dynamics of southern politics will shift as a result of the effects of the election on all three parties, in ways we have yet to see but which will be worth paying attention to. I previously stated that I would have voted for Humphreys had I a vote. I still would have voted for her. I think she would have been a fantastic President. But I don’t have one, and though Catherine Connolly would not have been my choice for the office she is also far more likely to argue for my right to have that vote in the years to come. Ironically, I don’t take solace in that. Whilst I believe there are benefits to the President using their office as a pulpit with which to bind a nation together, I must confess some of Connolly’s positions and statements have left me uneasy. I would have had far less trouble voting for her for a political office with real power than I would have for the office with little, whose real influence is symbolic and whose job is to overcome our differences and stand for us all. I hope she is able to do that. I hope Catherine Connolly is a fantastic President in spite of my misgivings, for at the moment that is all they are. She has every chance to prove my concerns misplaced and I wish her the best of luck in doing that. And of course, the Irish people will be able to pass a verdict on her in seven years. Maybe I’ll have a vote in that election, and be able to give my own verdict at that time.
