Presidency: a matter of importance?

Damian, 32, originally from Clare and now studying in Galway hasn’t decided yet for whom he is going to vote on the 27^th October. It doesn’t matter to him if the candidate belongs to a party or not, even though he wouldn’t give his vote to a candidate from Fianna Fal. The undergraduate math student doesn’t believe the President should have more influence on current politics but represent the people in public affairs.

At this moment there are five candidates competing for the position. Michael D. Higgins is the candidate from the Labour Party and used to be a TD for the Galway West constituency. Gay Mitchell is in the race for Fine Gael and is a Member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency since 2004. Martin McGuinness is a Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. Mary Davis, a social entrepreneur, and Seán Gallagher, founder of the company Smarthomes, are both independent candidates.

Changes are made so quickly in this race. McGuinness turned out to be the Sinn Féin candidate even though he said a few days ago he won’t be nominated at all. David Norris might come back into politics if he gets at least twenty votes of the serving members of the Oireachtas. All this shifting around can be confusing for the average voter. 

The Irish presidential Candidates in the 2011 elections, Foto: irishcentral.com

Nevertheless, the second term of the current President Mary McAleese has come to an end and it’s time for the Irish people to think about a new candidate they wish to be the head of state. Compared to other countries, e.g. Germany, the president is elected directly by the people in Ireland. The benefits of that electoral system could be a higher interest in the election or a better representation of the people by the candidate. The politicians have to connect with the people and impress them with their personality rather than politics of the party. What impact does it have in reality? Should the president have a greater influence on politics? What do the students in the university think about the presidency in this country?

A reformation of the presidency is on the agenda for many. One of the older proposals is to introduce a constructive vote of no confidence system in the Dáil like it is set in Germany. In that way the parliament could elect a new President in case of distrust and the President would lose the power to refuse dissolutions made by the Dáil.

Though, it is controversial if the Irish people would like to change anything in their governmental system. Brian, 21, from Galway wouldn’t support a reformation because he is convinced the operation of the presidency is good as it is. He considers the president as an important model for the people and stabilizer for the state. The personality of the candidate is decisive for the student of public and social policy. Though, he hasn’t made up his mind for what candidate he is going to vote.

In 2009 the Sunday Independent conducted a poll concerning the presidential election and found out a significant number of people felt that the presidency is a waste of money. Dominique, 19, shares this point of view. The art student from Donegal thinks that the role of the presidency is politically redundant on the national level. Nonetheless, she admits the president’s importance for the international representation of the country. She was very pleased with the work Mary McAleese has done in the last years because she improved foreign affairs and fought for women’s rights. Dominique is in favour for independent candidates and is properly going to vote for Gallagher.  

Voters in Galway seem to be happy with the work McAleese has done. They supported the improved relationships to the UK and hoped the new president would continue with that work in the foreign affairs. McAleese, who was born in Belfast, was the first President to have come from both Northern Ireland and the Province of Ulster.

Another interesting fact is that none of the interviewees would have liked the president to have more influence on the actual politics. Until now the presidency is largely a ceremonial office what means that the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute discretion. Appointing the Government and the judiciary or signing bills into law are examples for the tasks the Irish head of states needs to meet.

Several female students didn’t want to comment on the presidential election explaining they weren’t “up to date in politics” at all or haven’t formed an opinion about the upcoming election. Even though there have been two women Presidents in succession in Ireland.

That leads to the question if the presidential election in Ireland has achieved greater importance than in other countries. The conducted poll for this article is not representative enough to answer that question appropriately. However, it indicates that the importance of the election might not be as high as hoped even though it is up to people to choose the president. It is going to be interesting to have a look at the poll and the number of participation afterwards.