Michael D seems attached to the perks of high office

I MET Michael D in 2011 prior to him running for President. It was on a cold February day at Heuston station when we were both waiting on a train for our journeys back home.

When we struck up a conversation I told him I admired him for his principled stand on a number of issues over the years and also for his decision not to run in the General Election of that year as he was preparing to run for president.

During the subsequent campaign, Michael D promised on numerous occasions that if elected he would only serve one term as president.

My long-held view is that 14 years is far too long for any one person to hold the office of president. Fourteen years is the same period a child spends at school during their primary and secondary education. A child can spend their whole school life knowing only one president.

I agree he has done a good job by and large, with a few exceptions such as his utterances on the death of the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

However, his decision to go back on his word and seek a second term has changed my view. It seems that the perks of office have got to the old socialist, just like those he decried over the years.

Mr Higgins has done himself and the office of president a disservice by his decision to seek a second term – a view I believe shared by many. Name and address with Editor