Dysfunction of political system exposed

What a farce the 2011 presidential election race has become. What at one time earlier this year looked like it might become a titanic contest with several political heavyweights in the ring, debating the role of Ireland's head of state, has now left people shaking their heads in despair as an exercise in mediocrity has threatened to become a national embarrassment. Despite his popularity in the opinion polls, frontrunner Senator David Norris dropped out of the race following a scandal involving his former partner's statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy. He withdrew from the contest after it emerged he had written to the Israeli authorities in 1997 appealing for clemency for his former partner, Ezra Yitzhak Nawi, a peace activist who was found guilty of the statutory rape of the Palestinian boy and served time in prison. Senator Norris acknowledged the fatal damage that had been inflicted on his campaign by the revelation, exposing, as it did, his poor judgment and the improper use of his position. Left with a list of Aras hopefuls that is mostly uninspiring, the desperation of parties like Fianna Fail to latch onto any personality candidate that crosses its radar has been unbecoming, to say the least, driven by an almost equally frantic media anxious to fill column inches during the dog days of August. The emergence out of the blue of Gay Byrne as a leading candidate, without him ever seeking the job, has been followed this week by former GAA commentator Michael " Muircheartaigh, who has indicated that he is giving serious consideration to an Aras bid following a groundswell of support from around the country. Fianna Fail's hopes that it had found itself a Messianic candidate dipped when Mr Byrne eventually declined the invitation. Consequently, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has suffered a major backlash from several TDs over the Gay Byrne fiasco. Some believe the party should run Cork MEP Brian Crowley but others, probably correctly, feel that any candidate from within the party ranks would have no chance of winning, given the slump the FF party has suffered and the manner in which the party is still perceived by voters. This group continues to favour a candidate which is independent of the party. Both Gay Byrne and Micheal " Muircheartaigh are fine people in their own right, national treasures even. They are hugely popular figures who have carved a unique niche for themselves in the affections of the Irish people throughout long and distinguished broadcasting careers with RTE. Up to the past couple of weeks, however, neither had even considered entering the sphere of public life although they have had some experience of living in the public eye. However, it is the dichotomy of views between Gay Byrne, an avowed Eurosceptic who has called the people running the European Union "mad", and the strongly pro-EU FF party backing him, which has unmasked the whole charade. Gay Byrne's decision not to stand was the correct one, saying he considered himself unsuitable and unqualified to hold the highest public role in the country, a move which showed respect to the office of president. Mr " Muircheartaigh is still mulling over whether or not to allow his name to go forward, saying he would make his decision once he had the time to give it his full consideration within the next week or so. If he does run, it will be as as an independent, he has insisted. Given the problems we face as a country, the debt burden the taxpayer is being forced to carry, unemployment at levels not seen since the dark days of the 1980s, citizens worried about keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table, this is a mere sideshow but one that is threatening to be sullied by shallow politicking as parties look to gain the upper hand in the polls for a contest that will not take place until the end of October. It may be seen as a relatively inconsequential electoral exercise, but the farcical stunts that have characterised the contest thus far says much about the kind of stroke politics that remains evident in our party political system. When the dust settles on this particular chapter, hopefully an Irish electorate that is already deeply cynical about politics and politicians in this country will get to choose from a group of candidates who can bring honour and the necessary diplomatic skills to the role of President of Ireland. To follow in the footsteps of Ireland's last two presidents will be a tall order, so the eventual winner will need to have energy, vitality, positivity and integrity in spades in order to command the kind of respect this office demands.