ANALYSIS:THE SCRAMBLE for nominations is over and the presidential election campaign can now begin in earnest with proper attention being given to the claims of all seven candidates in the field.
The controversies surrounding David Norris and Martin McGuinness have dominated media coverage over the past few weeks and blotted out the claims of the other candidates.
From now on all seven should get the coverage they deserve. But given the intense focus on the questions that McGuinness and Norris are being asked to answer, the other five candidates may struggle to be heard.
Fine Gael and Labour should have the capacity to concentrate public interest on their respective candidates, Gay Mitchell and Michael D Higgins. So far, however, the Mitchell campaign doesn’t seem to have achieved much traction and a concerted effort will be required by the party to turn that around.
Michael D Higgins has had more success in establishing a platform to make his pitch. And his front-runner status should ensure that he continues to make an impact.
Mary Davis has also been able to project a national profile. Moreover, the fact that she persuaded 11 local authorities to back her is a sign that she has the capacity to make an impact. She also appears to have a well-funded campaign and that is important.
Seán Gallagher’s campaign does not seem to be funded to the same extent. While he has also performed well on the council circuit he will have to battle hard for exposure in the coming weeks. Dana Rosemary Scallon was a late entrant into the race, but she is an old hand at the publicity stakes and will make herself heard.
The presidential election differs from a general election in one important regard: the focus rests on the personality and character of those seeking the office rather than their political programmes.
The role of president is clearly defined in the Constitution and is strictly limited. President Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson before her have expanded the role and adopted a much higher public profile than their predecessors. But both have been careful to act within the constraints of the office.
The essential question for the electorate is which of the seven candidates before them can fulfil the constitutional duties of the office and best represent Ireland. An Irish Times opinion poll in July found that people see the representational role and the character, reputation and personality of the candidates as by far the most important issues when making up their minds.
The benchmark for voters is likely to be which candidate is most capable of behaving with the dignity and poise displayed by McAleese during the recent visit of Queen Elizabeth II.
That kind of performance demands a little more than having the right personality to win an election. The capacity for hard work, allied to shrewd political judgment are also essential attributes in a president.
The campaign over the next four weeks should allow the electorate to judge the candidates by that yardstick. How they respond not only to the physical demands of the campaign but to the criticism that will be levelled will provide voters with an insight into their suitability.
The electorate rightly regards a presidential election in a very different light to a general election. But it would be a mistake to regard it as merely a personality contest. Political experience is more critical than many people realise even if only 3 per cent identified it as the most important issue in the Irish Times poll.
Aside from the representational role, the president has constitutional functions which although they are limited are vitally important. A president can refer a Bill passed by the Dáil and Seanad to the Supreme Court. This power has to be exercised very carefully because, on the one hand, the referral of a Bill can be seen as a breach with the government but on the other it can ensure that a law can never be challenged again if it is approved by the court.
Another important function, which has never been exercised, is the right of a president to refuse a dissolution to a taoiseach who has lost the confidence of the Dáil. President Patrick Hillery famously resisted pressure from Charles Haughey to exercise this power in January, 1982. It took a combination of courage and political judgment for him to make that call.
Of course all presidents will have the advice of senior civil servants as well as their personal advisers, but ultimately they will have to make some important political decisions themselves. The ability to make fine judgments in difficult political circumstances is a quality that cannot be ignored in the candidates.
It is often forgotten that McAleese and her predecessor brought a considerable level of political experience to the office. While neither had served in government, both had fought Dáil elections and Robinson was a prominent senator for almost 20 years.
McAleese did not have the same depth of political experience. But through her work as a journalist and a lawyer she was involved in many of the major political controversies in the 1980s and she stood as a Fianna Fáil candidate in the 1987 general election.
With so many candidates in the field the issue will probably be decided only after a number of counts, particularly if a number of them are bunched together on the first count.
The winner will have to be near the top of the field on the first count but the outcome will hinge on transfers.
Race for the Áras: The Field
Profiles by Paul Cullen
SEÁN GALLAGHER
INDEPENDENT
Age: 49
Family: Married to Trish O'Connor
Career to date: An entrepreneur and businessman who is familiar to the public as a panellist on RTÉ's Dragons' Den, Gallagher has been actively running for the presidency since May. He co-founded Smarthomes which, his website says, became "Ireland's largest home technology firm" but is no longer involved in the business. Since then, he has been appointed to a number of State boards, notably Fás, and has been active in mentoring other business people through his involvement in chambers of commerce and local enterprise boards. From Ballyhaise, Co Cavan, Gallagher was born with congenital cataracts and was virtually blind until he received corrective surgery at the age of four. He studied at agriculture college and then obtained qualifications in community development and business before serving as chief executive of Co Louth Enterprise Board.
He describes himself as a “sporadic” member of Fianna Fáil over many years. He served as political secretary to former minister for health Rory O’Hanlon, acted as election manager for Seamus Kirk TD and was a member of the party’s national executive. He says he is no longer a member of Fianna Fáil or any other party.
Main policies:Says his core values are community, honesty, integrity and hard work. He wants to spread the message internationally that "Ireland is open for business" and put enterprise at the heart of the next presidency "by doing for job creation and business what President Mary McAleese did for the peace process". Will not be using posters during the campaign but his suggestion that the candidates save the exchequer money by issuing a joint leaflet has not been taken up.
Strengths:He is likely to mop up some Fianna Fáil support after the party decided not to run its own candidate. His business background also differentiates him from most of the other candidates. With his links to counties Cavan and Louth, he is also likely to poll strongly in the Border counties.
Weaknesses:Serving as a panellist on Dragons' Denhas brought him celebrity but his record lacks high-level public service. His closeness to Fianna Fáil will impair his ability to win lower preferences, which will be crucial to deciding this electoral contest. Increasingly seen as the outsider in a crowded field.
Campaign team:Three key campaign staff, including campaign director Cathal Lee, have Fianna Fáil backgrounds, but Mr Gallagher's team also includes Donall Geoghegan, a former government programme manager for the Green Party in the Fianna Fáil-led coalition.
Financial backing:Says the cost of his campaign is being funded through small fundraisers and donations made through his website. Aiming to run his campaign as cost-effectively as possible, hence the decision to forgo posters.
Campaign slogan:Let's Put our Strengths to Work
Betting:40/1
MARY DAVIS
INDEPENDENT
Age:57.
Family: Married to Julian Davis; four children.
Career to date:Best known as the chief executive of the highly successful 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Dublin, Davis has worked in various roles in the Special Olympics movement since then. She is on leave from her post as president and managing director of the Europe/Eurasia branch of the organisation.
Born Mary Rooney in Swinford, Co Mayo, she studied physical education in Ireland and abroad and started work as a Physical Education co-ordinator in St Michael’s House. From there, she first volunteered in the Special Olympics before taking up the first of various posts in the organisation in 1985.
She was appointed by President Mary McAleese to the Council of State in 2004 and has chaired the Task Force on Active Citizenship. Her numerous board memberships have included the Irish Sports Council, Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, Dublin Airport Authority, UCD Foundation and ICS Building Society. She spent a decade as a director of the National Sports Campus Development Authority, which was set up to develop the ill-fated “Bertie Bowl” in west Dublin. She also served on the Irish Times Trust from 2006-2011.
Main policies:She wants to renew Ireland's reputation abroad, champion fairness and restore people's self-confidence. Other priorities including challenging the stigma surrounding mental health, continuing to work with people with intellectual difficulties and acting as an advocate for the elderly.
Strengths:Her roots in the Special Olympics movement give her a support base in nearly every town in Ireland. She is well placed to attract votes from traditional supporters of Fianna Fáil, which is not running a candidate. She expressed interest in running last year and declared last May, so she has had plenty of time to get organised and tour the country.
Weaknesses: Her campaign style has been criticised as bland and lacking substance, while her lack of political experience is evident in the cut and thrust of debate. Her appointment by the last Fianna Fáil government to various quangos may not sit well with an electorate voting in 2011. Her closeness to the businessman she describes as her "mentor", Denis O'Brien, has aroused interest, but she says the telecoms millionaire has no role or involvement in her campaign.
Campaign team:Former deputy Garda commissioner Peter Fitzgerald is chairman of Davis's well-organised campaign. Media advice is being provided by former Fianna Fáil general secretary Martin Mackin and media relations are being handled by Suzanne Coogan, a former adviser to former Fianna Fáil minister Willy O'Dea. Ryan Meade, a former Green Party activist, is also involved in the team, as is PR consultant Damien Garvey, who has worked for Fine Gael.
Financial backing:Davis and her husband have taken out a personal loan. The campaign is also being funded through small donations from a network of supporters. Most of the money is being raised at events such as coffee mornings, skydives and table quizzes.
Campaign slogan:Pride at Home. Respect Abroad
Betting (Paddy Power):12/1
MICHAEL D HIGGINS
LABOUR PARTY
Age:70
Family: Married to Sabina Coyne; they have four children
Career to date:The oldest candidate in the field, Mr Higgins was a Labour deputy for Galway West for most of the past 30 years, but has combined his political career with separate roles as a sociology professor and a poet. As minister for arts, culture and the Gaeltacht, he scrapped section 31 of the Broadcasting Act, re-established the Irish Film Board and set up the first Irish language television station. In 2000, he was made Labour's foreign affairs spokesman and in 2003 he was appointed party president, a post he still holds.
Born in Limerick, he was raised in Newmarket, Co Clare, by an unmarried uncle and aunt. He studied sociology and lectured at UCG before entering politics. He joined Fianna Fáil briefly while a student, but switched to Labour. In the 1980s, he was a leading opponent within the party of coalition but a decade later entered coalition cabinets with Fianna Fáil and, later, Fine Gael and Democratic Left ministers. He was awarded the first Sean MacBride International Peace Prize for his international human rights work.
Main policies:As president, he would offer a vision of a "radically inclusive citizenship in a creative society, worthy of a real Republic – making us proud to be Irish in the world". He says we need "a new and vibrant vision of what it means to be a citizen in Ireland.
“A radically inclusive citizenship where everyone participates and is treated with respect.”
Potential strengths:Widely liked and respected within politics, his long years of experience are seen as an asset for the presidency. His roots in the west of Ireland will help him hoover up votes in areas where Labour is traditionally weak. His bohemian tinges should sit well with the current anti-establishment mood of the electorate.
Potential weaknesses:He has a tendency to ramble and speak too long and sometimes, to resort to sociological jargon. Could face questions over his physical frailty, given the gruelling demands of the presidency over a seven-year term.
Campaign team:Labour TD for Dublin Central Joe Costello is his director of elections and former Labour press director Tony Heffernan has come out of retirement to direct communications operations. His daughter, Alice Mary, is working full-time on the campaign in an unpaid capacity.
Financial backing:Campaign has a budget of €350,000 which includes a contribution from the Labour Party. All Labour Party public representatives will make substantial individual contributions. Non-political fundraising events are being run by groups such as "Artists for Michael D". Events include concerts, coffee mornings and art sales.
Campaign Slogan:The president who will do us proud
Betting:Evens favourite
MARTIN McGUINNESS
SINN FÉIN
Age:61
Family:Married to Bernadette Canning; four children.
Career to date:Martin McGuinness "joined the IRA in the 1970s," according to the biography on his presidential website, which provides no further details of his paramilitary activities. The Saville inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday found that he was "probably" armed with a Thompson submachine gun and "could not exclude the possibility that he fired it". He says he left the IRA in 1974 and Sinn Féin claims "he engaged with them after that with a view to bringing about peace". It is commonly held, however, that he led the IRA for a number of years; according to journalist Ed Moloney, he was Northern commander and then chief of staff of the IRA between 1977 and 1982. He has denied killing anyone while in the IRA.
In 1982, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for Derry, thus beginning his long road towards constitutional politics. By the end of the decade, he was working with others in bringing around an IRA ceasefire and was later appointed Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator in the talks that led to the Belfast Agreement. He was first elected MP for Mid Ulster in 1997 and has been re-elected three times, though under Sinn Féin’s abstentionist policy he has never taken his seat. In 2007, following agreement between Sinn Féin and the DUP, he was nominated as deputy first minister in the North, with DUP leader Ian Paisley as first minister. He has stepped down temporarily to contest the presidential election.
Main policies:He says he will be a president who is independent of the Government. If elected, he will take only the average wage and has promised to promote an ethos of equality and inclusion and to use the presidency to recognise civic participation.
Strengths:He is recognised as a seminal figure in Irish politics over the past four decades, whose role in driving forward the peace process was pivotal. A charismatic leader, he is likely to pull in votes from a broad spectrum of nationalists and republicans, including traditional Fianna Fáil voters.
Weaknesses:His IRA activities are likely to be scrutinised as never before during the campaign, whether he likes it or not. A lack of familiarity with political campaigning in the Republic may also curb his effectiveness. He is likely to improve on Sinn Féin's 10 per cent vote in the last general election, but may struggle to attract lower transfers.
Campaign team:Mainly composed of Sinn Féin staffers and political representatives.
Financial backing:Party sources
Campaign Slogan:The People's President
Betting: 4/1
GAY MITCHELL
FINE GAEL
Age:59
Family:Married to Norma; four children
Career to date:A varied 30-year political career has seen him serve as a Dublin city councillor, the city's lord mayor, a minister of state and, most recently, an MEP. He has won 14 elections, eight of them for the Dáil. Unlike his older brother, the late Jim Mitchell, he never achieved Cabinet rank. However, he was minister for state in the Department of the Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs in the 1994-97 Rainbow Coalition, where he had responsibility for the Irish Financial Services Centre.
He unsuccessfully challenged for the Fine Gael leadership in 2002, losing out to Enda Kenny, and moved to the European Parliament in 2004.
From Inchicore in Dublin, he served his time as a coach builder before going on to obtain qualifications in accountancy and politics. As Lord Mayor, he suggested bringing the Summer Olympics to Dublin.
Main policies:Stresses rights, responsibilities, enterprise and social justice. Says he wants to return to a society based on principles, one that is less harsh and more merciful and forgiving.
The welfare of the people would be at the heart of his presidency.
Strengths:Known as a dogged political fighter, as witnessed by his electoral record.
Could still benefit from Fine Gael’s near record levels of popularity, and the benefits that accrue from enjoying the support of the incumbent administration.
Weaknesses:He had to overcome a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the party's hierarchy before emerging victorious from a fraught selection process. Can be impulsive and quick-tempered. Critics say he lacks the necessary gravitas for the job.
Campaign team:His director of elections is Laois-Offaly TD Charlie Flanagan, chairman of the parliamentary party. Fine Gael's behind-the-scenes guru Frank Flannery is deputy director of elections and Terry Murphy from headquarters is an adviser on campaign strategy. Mitchell's personal spokesman is John Downing, a former journalist who was deputy government press secretary for the Green Party in the last government.
Financial backing:Fine Gael expects to spend €400,000-€500,000 in the current campaign, much of it coming from a €1 million remortgaging of the party's headquarters on Mount Street in Dublin earlier this year.
Campaign Slogan:Understands our past. Believes in our future.
Betting:8/1
DAVID NORRIS
INDEPENDENT
Age:67
Family:Single
Career to date:The first openly gay person to be elected to public office in Ireland, Mr Norris is a former university lecturer who played a central role in the campaign to have homosexuality decriminalised. An independent Senator for Trinity College since 1987, he is also well-known as a scholar of James Joyce and has been credited with rehabilitating the writer in his native land. Born in the Belgian Congo, where his father worked as an engineer, he was raised in Ireland and studied English in TCD. He taught in the university between 1968 and 1996, though he never obtained post-graduate qualifications after studying for a BA.
Norris argued in the High Court that the criminalisation of homosexuality was an infringement of his right to privacy but his claim was rejected and the Supreme Court upheld this decision in 1983. He then took his case to the European Court of Human Rights, which found in his favour. The law was repealed in 1993. He started his campaign for the presidency last spring but withdrew in July after it emerged that he wrote a letter in 1997 to the Israeli authorities pleading on behalf of Ezra Yitzhak Nawi, who had been convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy. Nawi was his partner for 10 years up to 1985. Norris re-entered the race in dramatic circumstances in the past two weeks and managed to secure the support of four local authorities just in time before the deadline for nominations closed.
Main policies: Has pledged to make human rights central to his presidency if elected.
Strengths:Clearly enjoys wide popular support; this has been dented somewhat by the Nawi controversy. He has managed to appeal to a wide spectrum of opinion, from left-wing activists to elements within Fianna Fáil.
Weaknesses:He is currently under pressure to release further letters he wrote seeking clemency for Nawi. His departure from the race, and the circumstances which led to this, cost him the support of many allies, including some of his campaign staff. Can be bombastic and egotistical, though seldom less than entertaining.
Campaign team:A number of key members of his campaign left when the Nawi controversy broke. It is not clear what arrangements are now in place to fight the election over the coming weeks. His communications are currently being handled by a public relations consultant.
Financial backing:His popular appeal has made it easier for him to raise funds through large amounts of small donations, a la Barack Obama. However, his website is currently not operating, thus hampering online fundraising efforts.
Campaign Slogan:None at the moment, but the former English lecturer and Joycean scholar shouldn't have much problem coming up with one.
Betting:9/4
DANA ROSEMARY SCALLON
INDEPENDENT
Age:60
Family:Married to Damian Scallon; four children
Career to date:Best known simply as Dana, she is best known for winning the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest with All Kinds of Everythingwhile still a teenager. This was the first time Ireland had won the contest.
A varied musical career followed, with over 30 albums to her name. While her pop career declined in the UK, she grew in popularity as a Christian performing artist and moved to the US in the 1980s.
While still living in the US, she secured a nomination to standing in the 1997 presidential election and came third, behind Mary McAleese but ahead of the Labour candidate Adi Roche.
Two years later, she won a seat in the European Parliament, representing the Connacht-Ulster constituency.
In her campaign, she stressed family values and her opposition to abortion and divorce. She lost this seat in 2004 and failed to secure a nomination for the presidency in the same year.
Scallon is a late contestant in the current presidential campaign, having secured the necessary support of four county councils with just one day to go to the deadline for nominations.
Main policies:Her musical website stresses her work for peace, Christian family values and respect for life. She has promised to restore and build trust within the country and fight inequality. Speaking during yesterday's radio debate, she said whoever is the next president must be "true to themselves".
Strengths:She scores high on the recognition factor, thanks to her entertainment career and her previous forays into politics. Her candidacy will attract votes from traditional Catholic and broader Christian voters. She hails from Derry and currently lives in Co Galway, so is likely to pick up support west of the Shannon.
Weaknesses:Her late entry into the contest is likely to make it difficult for her to run an effective campaign. It remains to be seen how much her core support will be affected by the scandals that have affected the Catholic Church in recent times.
Campaign team:Likely to be based around her family and close confidantes.
Financial backing:Details not available at this stage.
Campaign Slogan:None as yet
Betting:50/1