President vote bore of century

SOME election battles capture the imagination of the public and inspire people to come out in their droves to vote.

But yesterday’s was not one of them. Instead, a foregone conclusion coupled with three hopefuls from a reality TV series and a candidate whose purpose was to make Sinn Fein look nice have made the presidential poll the bore of the century.

However, some good may have come of it. When Michael D Higgins saunters back into Aras an Uachtarain there will be pressure on him and the Government to be more open about his office’s spending – and, perhaps, be a little more thrifty with taxpayers’ money.

We have motorways in Ireland that go all the way to Belfast, Mr Higgins, so leave the Government jet on the tarmac.

Sadly, some bad may have come out of it too. One candidate discovered the Trump effect – that dividing the country by being borderline racist about a minority group can get votes.

That may not have been his intention but, looking at the polls, it seems to have been the result.

Luckily, there won’t be another presidential election until 2025, by which time Trump will hopefully be a bad memory and politics may be a little more civilised.

Oh, and a President can only serve two terms. So Michael D won’t be standing again. Definitely this time.