Now senator wonders what might have been
THE senator who sparked the Presidential election believes he should ‘maybe have stayed in the race’ as he could hardly have done worse than some of the candidates.
Gerard Craughwell was first to insist that Michael D Higgins should not have a free run to a second term – and more than 650,000 people agreed with him by voting for other candidates.
His beating of the drum led Sinn Féin to declare that it would force a contest, opening the door to others to join the fray – at which point Senator Craughwell, who had promised to run alone if necessary, promptly dropped out. Last night, he told the Irish Daily Mail that he could hardly have done worse than some, and a part of him still wished he could have taken part in the race.
However, he said he accepts he would have been beaten.
‘Having observed the election, I am delighted at the end of the day that I was not a part of it,’ Mr Craughwell said.
‘History will record this as the election that no contestant won.
‘The citizens of this country learned two things: do not enter a major election without a full and politically smart team and, secondly, that Presidential candidates should study the Constitution,’ the senator said.
The senator also maintained that the biggest loser in the election was politics itself.
‘The failure of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to put up a candidate for selfish economic reasons debased the position of President,’ he said.
‘From the outset, Michael D Higgins entered this election with an impeccable track record and a revered reputation.
‘He leaves with a reputation tainted by a lack of transparency and extravagance,’ Senator Craughwell said.