From a situation in which it was assumed in many circles that no one would challenge Michael D Higgins for the presidency, it seems that a queuing system will be needed for everyone queuing to pop him.
No less than three past and current panel members of the reality TV program Dragon's Den are in the field.
Seán Gallagher announced this week that he would resume his spectacular bid for the office in 2011 and join Gavin Duffy, who was seriously campaigning but without much impact since July.
Hardly had Gallagher announced his intention, when he was accompanied by another "Dragon" (they seem to enjoy the description), Peter Casey, a businessman who has moved from the US home to offer his services to the country.
Senator Joan Freeman and artist Kevin Sharkey have also advised provincial councils in search of their support.
Sinn Féin will also lead a candidate, and while the Irish MEP Liadh Ní Riada is widely promoted as his nominee, the party has yet to officially decide.
The former Irish independent journalist Gemma O & # 39; Doherty is also looking for a nomination, campaigning on an anti-corruption platform.
Meanwhile, several other, previously unknown candidates are looking for a nomination with a different level of involvement and energy. It is highly unlikely that Patrick Feeney, Marie Goretti Moylan, John Groarke, Jimmy Smyth or Sarah Louise Mulligan – an impersonator of Marilyn Monroe, no less – will make it to the ballot box. But they can come into the sun for a moment in the coming weeks.
There are still four weeks to go before nominations close. Hardly a day goes by without someone raising his hand.
On Friday it was Mannix Flynn, the independent councilor of Dublin. He said that he considered himself to stand, because according to him the caliber of many of the candidates so far was less than that of the president. Flynn will certainly not be the last.
But with all due respect to anyone looking for a nomination, it is Gallagher's most intriguing participation in the race. With an existing network of support among council members he is almost certain that he will be on the ballot.
He has experience with running a national campaign. As former Fianna Fáiler he will be, as in 2011, attractive for many Fianna Fáil voters who do not have their own candidate.
And he won almost seven years ago, when a spectacular late turnaround overtook the last weekend as an untouchable lead. He still received more than half a million votes.
Gallagher has done extensive research into a possible campaign, in which the weak spots of the incumbent party can lie. But it will certainly be a challenge to repeat the rapid rise that characterized his last tilt on the presidency.
To begin with, the country is different. Rebellious campaigns are difficult to repeat. Is Higgins completely defeat?
The history of elections tells us that very few candidates are unbeatable. Certainly, many are very difficult to beat. But that is something else.
Campaign surveys
With one reading of the figures, Higgins is impregnable. Repeated opinion polls from the Irish Times have shown strong support for a second term for Higgins in recent years, while a poll in the Daily Mail this week expressed support at 66 percent.
But campaign surveys will be different, because campaign dynamics will be different. And if anything is known about the presidential election in Ireland, it is that they are completely unpredictable. Unpredictable and sometimes mean.
Each reading of the history of the last election campaign in 2011 will testify to the extent to which the media have interviewed the candidates and tested them for destruction – David Norris, Martin McGuinness, Dana Rosemary Scallon, Mary Davis and finally, Gallagher (Gay Mitchell) never really got off the ground).
The name that is missing in that list is Higgins – which, with every reasonable settlement, was slightly lost last time. That is probably not the case this time.
One thing that Higgins must come up with is how he wants to separate the role of candidate from the role of president over the next two months. According to the Áras, he is "confident, on the basis of legal advice that he possesses, that his campaign activity can be separated from his constitutional role".
The Áras refused to share the legal advice. In reality, however, he could hardly avoid it and Higgins has already used the office for campaigns.
A good example was recently at the All-Ireland swaying semi-final at the end of July when Higgins was presented – unusually – to the players of the red carpet for the games, in full view of the crowds. This normally happens during the final (it will happen during the football finals of tomorrow), but it is usually not part of the semi-finals routine.
Asked, the Áras said that it was the idea of Croke Park. GAA sources, although reluctant to contradict the president, say otherwise. The president also gave an extensive interview to the sports program of the RTÉ radio, in which he recommended (maybe) a little pendulum.
Again the Áras insisted that this was the idea of RTÉ. Again, others differ. Anyway, it is probably not the last piece of land that the opponents of Higgins will see swinging.
Higgins has all the advantages – from recognition, popularity, status and the strong approval of voters.
But above all, he has the best quality a politician can have: people like him. They warm up for his radiant smile and his obvious joy in doing the job.
But those who have worked with him over the years also say that he has an uplifting, impatient side and is capable of flashes of anger and frustration directed at those close to him.
As president he has received an exaggerated level of respect and respect, as befits the office. He would hardly be a man if he were not influenced by it, so it could be a challenge to keep his sangfroid when journalists raise questions about him about hotel bills for foreign travel, or the presidential wardrobe, or his admiration for Latin American strong men, or whatever.
The usual haughtiness of the Áras in questions within the framework of the normal course of events may be expected from an office and an institution of which the staff and the client are very aware "above politics", as the saying goes. But you can not stand above politics during an election campaign. In one way or another it is probably a rocky road to the Phoenix Park.
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