Candidates beware – the gloves come off in battle for presidency
BRACE yourselves, we could well be heading back to that summer of 2011. There were seven serious runners limbering up, and at least the same number giving it a bit of “ask me again” on the sidelines.
The entire carry-on was long on showbiz and short on political debate, with an added nasty streak recurring throughout. And, just as this time round, its early stages played out against a backdrop of celebrity overseas visitors.
Yes, I am talking about that ‘quare political animal’ – a presidential election campaign.
Seven years on, in a point of difference, we have the added dynamic of some doubt about whether it will happen at all. But we still have the visiting stars, with British royals Harry and Meghan due this week and Pope Francis visiting in six weeks’ time, recalling US president Obama and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in summer 2011.
Mention of Queen Elizabeth raises a strange juxtaposition of events. On the day the British monarch visited Áras an Uachtaráin in May 2011, a social media campaign to have the DJ Marty Whelan nominated as a candidate to become the nation’s first citizen kicked off.
But the redoubtable Marty was not the only “showbiz” potential president mentioned in despatches. Fianna Fáil, bludgeoned by voters in the general election of February 2011, compounded members’ angst about not fielding a candidate by publicly opening dialogue with veteran broadcaster Gay Byrne.
The fictional US president Bartlet, of ‘West Wing’ fame, got 5,000 web supporters and his candidature was backed by the Southern California contestant in the Rose of Tralee. There were those who felt the ‘radio voice of the GAA’, Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, was tailor-made for the Áras.
The potential field became more crowded: Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann thought he might try his hand for Fianna Fáil. There was a suggestion that fictional South Dublin blade Ross O’Carroll-Kelly could extend “the Dort” just north of the Liffey. This writer delighted in planning a fictional PhD thesis on transfer analysis between this pair.
From Seanad Éireann, veteran gay rights campaigner David Norris did a superb ‘Lannigan’s Ball’ by storming into the campaign, storming out, and then storming back in again. Dana Rosemary Scallan also had a go, bringing some Eurovision glitter.
The stranger-than-fiction factor had clearly infused the political parties by this point. We have already noted the shenanigans in Fianna Fáil.
Sinn Féin had a good eye on the Fianna Fáil turf when Martin McGuinness took leave from his day job in the North to bus his way out of Co Derry and all the way round the country. Along the way he periodically insisted he had no knowledge about IRA murderers of gardaí and Irish Army soldiers.
Fine Gael tried a parachute job, recruiting former Progressive Democrat Pat Cox, fresh from his triumph as president of the European Parliament. That parachute spectacularly failed to open as Gay Mitchell emerged from the party ranks to land a surprise nomination.
This is the point where this writer must declare a personal interest in that 2011 presidential race. I experienced this crazy event and its bruising nature from the inside as press officer on Gay Mitchell’s ill-starred campaign. The experience taught me much about the brutal side of politics and especially how personalised the attacks can be in that strange world of Irish presidential campaigns.
Re-reading a book on the subject, ‘The Race for the Áras’ by Tom Reddy, which summarised much of this particular slice of the cruel political trade, I am reminded that the 2011 campaign looked as crazy from the outside as it did to me from the inside.
And, despite all the rollicking boil-in-the-bag political farce scenarios that 2011 campaign threw up, there is a also a serious point of reflection to be noted. It is that considerable harm can be done to people with a good track record in politics and/or civic life.
This should serve as a warning to those who want to rush into this fray in the coming autumn.
The strange office that is Uachtaráin na hÉireann, with seriously limited powers, large potential influence, and great ceremonial demands, lends itself to a probing examination of a candidate’s personality and character.
That gives a licence to struggling rivals to take the gloves off. It gives cover to some journalists to venture into terrain less travelled in more regular political coverage.
The 2011 campaign may well be remembered for the grand finale of dramatic incidents on RTÉ’s ‘Frontline’ debate. This was the last of nine broadcast debates, where independent challenger Seán Gallagher met his Waterloo, and it all had a sequel in the courts.
But the entire noisy campaign, which ran from the balmy days of summer to the dark evenings just before Halloween holiday weekend, was replete with strange drama from start until some time after its finish. It was also the political contest most influenced by media, new and old, throughout.
Now, we are likely to see another presidential campaign in the coming weeks. As we said at the start: brace yourselves.
The strange office, with limited powers and great demands, lends itself to probing candidates’ personality and character