7 more years.

Séan Gallagher, there’s a name to conjure up surprises. He’s back and ready to pick up from where he left off, Soon county councils will hear the patter of tiny feet as he appeals to councillors to nominate him to run for the Arás. He won’t be on his own. Gerard Craughwell seems to have changed tack and rather than look for 20 independent members of the Oireachtas to nominate him, he’s going on the council route too in his bid.

And that leaves Sinn Fein who will by the week end set out who they will run as President Michael D Higgins nominates himself to run for a second term. Opinion polls this far out from an election are unpredictable.

 Election 18 will be a very different campaign to the last one.  7 years ago FF was in disarray and unwilling to openly nominate and so it was that Séan Gallagher almost made it to the Arás until fate intervened. Gallagher will have no problem getting the nomination from FF controlled councils are there are many more now than there were when he first ran. Where he may have problems is how he is perceived by the electorate. His campaign fell apart when he inadvertently used the word envelope as he defended his role as a Fianna Fail moneyman. People are often forgiving of a person’s personal failings but when it comes to clumsy use of language in a debate he may discover that his support is not as high as before.

Craughwell comes across as angry in the media. He called on the President to clarify his position, when he does, he claims it’s an establishment stitch up. Michael D Higgins has been called a lot in the past, but establishment is a new one on me. I wonder how many of President Higgins speeches Craughwell reads?  His speech in Wexford in 2011 on the anniversary of the execution of James Connolly when he unveiled the lock out gates was hardly an off the shelf 2 minute routine. Rather it was a critique of the established values which brought us to where we are today. Likewise his tribute to Fidel Castro when he died stood apart from the response of all other European heads of state. His embrace of dialectic and intellect is the polar opposite of what I’ve always understood the establishment to be.  But it suits Craughwell to portray Higgins as establishment rather than make his own case as to how his presidency could be different. I don’t know what Craughwell will stand for if he is elected.

Sinn Fein simply want to run because they have plenty of money and will seize the chance to run in any election where neither Fianna Fail (officially) nor Fine Gael will field a candidate.  SF tell us they want to have a conversation about women, travellers, minorities, marginalised. Where they get a candidate from each one of those backgrounds is their challenge. I note that after 34 years of Gerry Adams, SF didn’t have a conversation within its own party as to who the new President should be. The good news is that they think the rest of us should have a conversation and in time they will give us a candidate to facilitate this. Let’s be frank about it, it’s not about winning for SF, its all about having their name on a ballot paper and poster for 4 weeks during the campaign.

For what it’s worth, I believe the President should be either an experienced politician or someone who has legal experience. Why? Because the Presidency is 2 things; a president whose values reflect where society is when the President is chosen and also someone who may need to make legal decisions that impact on the Oireachtas or our courts. Simply being able to spot a gap in the market for an investment doesn’t give you that ability. 

That’s what the job should be. But in keeping with previous Presidential elections you can bet your bottom dollar that this one will be as dirty as ever. That leaves just one credible candidate for me. For Labour, Higgins winning another term added to the repeal of the 8th will mark a turning point. But nothing comes easy. I'll be buying a pair of shoes , there's a lot of waking ahead of me.

Head and shoulders above the protesters

I’ve always regarded President Higgins highly.  He’s a very able and articulate man who is passionate about the people of our state.  He’s being deliberately targeted by anti water charge protesters.  It’s very unfair to him, those who organise events, our citizens and our state.  The personal abuse of him and his wife Sabina is completely unacceptable.

The reason why Higgins is being targeted is because it was wrongly believed by supporters of the Right to Water, Sinn Fein and Socialist Workers Party that the President should not sign into law the legislation to introduce new lower water charges in December.

In fact the President refers the legislation only after consulting with the Council of State to the Supreme Court.  When the Supreme Court makes a decision that decision cannot be challenged again.  In other word the President can be ordered to sign the bill and no citizen can ever challenge it if the court finds in favour of the government.  If the Court finds against the bill it can be sent back to the Oireachtás where it can be partly amended and the bill then passed and it has to be signed.

Politicians know how the Supreme Court works, Paul Murphy has a law degree.  Here’s a suggestion, would Paul have not been better employed using his legal skills to challenge the act through the courts, if he thinks he has a case?  You see at the back of many minds there is the view that R2W, SF, SWP Socialist Party egos are driving a publicity campaign that is not about water but about the next election and winding up the electorate.  If the president had referred the bill one wonders what the campaigns response would have been to judges making the decision on this case?

It is appalling that the Presidency which is above politics is being dragged into a political dispute. This controversy could if it continues harm the office of president, one Irish political office which still has an enormous international prestige.

There is an onus on people organising campaigns to take responsibility for everything that happens.  That is not happening in all cases.  You cannot go some of the way with people you bring on the streets and when things take a turn, say, “well that’s got nothing to do with me”. The petrol bombing of a TD’s office, the telephoning of threats to the constituency office of Alan Kelly, the abuse of Labour councillor Martina Genockey during the local election campaign and of course the targeting of Joan Burton in Jobstown.  There just some of the high profile cases, all of us know that there are many others.

Recent comments by local Wexford People Before Profit councillor that Wexford councillors would be advised to listen to her mandate and allow protests within the council building by her supporters, because if they don’t she won’t otherwise be responsible for what will happen typifies the part threat,  part gutless abdication of responsibility that has become typical of a campaign that is more about publicity than fact.  

I’ve organised and taken part in more than my own fair share of protests.  Any protest should have an objective.  I can’t see what the objective is in Thursday’s protest in Dublin nor indeed the point in posting youtube footage that so damages their own campaign.   The R2W campaign should do the decent thing and apologise for what went on to the President, his wife, Colaiste Eoin and the community it serves.

For a man of small stature, President Higgins stands miles well above his detractors.