Higgins won’t coast back into Áras without having to answer some serious questions
PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins will have to battle a selection of minnows to win another seven years in Áras an Uachtaráin.
Fine Gael will tonight endorse his candidacy but expects that he will actively campaign against a line-up of relatively unknown candidates for re-election.
By delaying his announcement and getting Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to back his bid, Mr Higgins has ensured that his path to a second term will not be obstructed by any big names.
Sinn Féin is expected to put forward a woman, while Independent hopefuls include senators Gerard Craughwell, Pádraig Ó Céidigh and Joan Freeman, and artist Kevin Sharkey.
Seán Gallagher, who was ahead of Mr Higgins in the polls in 2011 until the infamous RTÉ ‘tweetgate’ controversy, issued an ambiguous statement yesterday that appeared to suggest he also wants an active role in the campaign.
However, Mr Gallagher was uncontactable last night and those close to him were unable to clarify his intentions.
Mr Higgins has said he will not shirk from the debate but added that there is “no reason for a campaign to be down and dirty”.
A senior Fine Gael minister told the Irish Independent that the party would back him, but expected that he would fight to retain his job.
“There will have to be a bus tour and whatever TV debates. People won’t like if he just sits back and lets it happen around him. That’s too risky a game nowadays,” the minister said.
Fianna Fáil has already confirmed it will endorse Mr Higgins and party leader Micheál Martin said the party believed his re-election would be “the best outcome for Irish people”.
He rejected accusations that the party was trying to prevent an election.
“I don’t see any reason why one should oppose him for the sake of opposing him,” he said.
“We have to work as a political party ourselves. Our obligation as a political party is to do what is in the best interests of the Irish people.”
Speaking in Mayo for the first time since confirming his intentions, Mr Higgins said he had met the demands of the office over his first term and dismissed questions about whether he would have concerns about reaching his 80s while in office.
“If I felt I couldn’t be doing this job with energy, and getting the responses I’ve been getting for the last six years, I wouldn’t be doing it,” he said.
The incumbent has faced strong criticism from potential candidates for leaving it until now to declare his intentions, with Mr Craughwell accusing him of “manipulating” the process. The senator is now set to pursue a nomination via the local authority route.
Mr Higgins can nominate himself, but other candidates need the support of either four local authorities or 20 Oireachtas members to secure a nomination.
With the main political parties backing Mr Higgins, any potential challenger is facing an uphill battle to secure support.
Former candidate Mr Gallagher wrote to the chairs of each of the local authorities urging them to facilitate potential candidates.
Mr Higgins declined to respond to criticisms from Mr Craughwell over the timing of his announcement.