Blocking Maria Steen from running for the presidency was not clever. It is likely to rebound in particular on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
Let us consider a different scenario, however improbable. Suppose Michéal Martin, who effectively manoeuvred to prevent even any FF politician or former politician from running, had instead decided to emulate Enda Kenny in 1997. Kenny instructed Fine Gael councillors merely to abstain rather than vote against Dana Rosemary Scallon when she took the local authority route to nomination. Kenny did so even though Fine Gael had Mary Banotti in the race. (Fine Gael was not so magnanimous in later presidential elections)
Steen would likely have secured a nomination if the councils had not been stitched up. In gratitude, her highly motivated followers would probably have transferred to Jim Gavin. Given his unspectacular showing so far, it may prove to be the case that Gavin could have done with the help. In the unlikely event of Steen winning, Martin could have taken some credit for being fair-minded, as could Simon Harris, had he chosen not to apply the whip.
Instead, Martin asked why people who have been criticising Fianna Fáil for years now expected it to support their candidate. No one was expecting FF to support Maria Steen, just not to use Constitutional provisions designed to widen access to running for president in a way that blocks candidates instead.
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If Steen is as unrepresentative of the electorate as claimed, why not allow her to run and be trounced?
Being on the wrong side of referendum campaigns apparently made her unsuitable. What a double standard.
Michael D Higgins was on the losing side of the citizenship referendum and in a party that was regularly demolished at the polling stations, but no major party suggested that disqualified him from running.
In full disclosure, I have known Maria Steen for many years and have the highest regard for her and her husband, Neil. However, I learned about her potential candidacy in The Irish Times and was not involved in any way with her campaign. But I believe that she is a person of integrity. She has championed unpopular positions at no little personal cost because she believes them to be right. Those qualities are rare. She would have cut an impressive figure on the international stage – not to mention the delight of young children living in the Arás.
There were alleged liberals among the independent members of the Oireachtas who made it clear that they did not value diversity in the race, preferring instead to complain about being lobbied too hard to support her.
To be clear, given that online communication is frequently poisonous, I am sure that some people subjected elected representatives to personalised abuse. That was unequivocally wrong. But you cannot be an elected representative and object to a large volume of communication if it is respectful.
People who could have signed her nomination papers but did not conspired to give us a less meaningful campaign. It reinforces cynicism about, and alienation from, politics. The turnout is likely to be historically low.
Steen, who is acknowledged even by ideological opponents to be intelligent, able and articulate, would have raised the quality of debate. She would have compelled the other candidates to account for what they stand for and what the role of the president should be. She would have made it painfully clear that when it comes to important issues, the differences between the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael candidates are non-existent. Aontú, Independent Ireland, and others who supported her, in contrast, have demonstrated that they understand the need for diversity among presidential candidates.
As Marian Harkin said, “By not giving a voice to different viewpoints, certain groups of people become further polarised.” Even though Harkin will be voting for Heather Humphreys, she was able to see that she had a responsibility not to push people away from electoral politics towards much uglier alternatives.
The same people who blocked Steen are already rubbishing Independent Ireland’s proposed Bill for a constitutional referendum to widen access to candidacy. Independent Ireland has suggested that nominations should require the support of 20 members drawn from the combined pool of 160 TDs, 60 Senators, and 14 MEPs, or 80 individual councillors from across the country. These proposals would keep the bar high and eliminate some of the messers.
[ Handbag at the Dáil for Maria Steen as her Áras run comes to an endOpens in new window ]
It would also prevent councils from blocking candidates. Aside from official or unofficial party whips being applied, some councils organised meetings at the same time as other councils, then berated potential candidates for being disrespectful because they could not bilocate or trilocate.
As for Steen entering the race late, it is a fair criticism – but it is clear that some of the people who refused to back her would not have done so no matter when she started campaigning. Gareth Sheridan was also a victim of the establishment closing ranks, and he began his campaign months ago.
Commentators were busy mocking Steen for claiming to offer real choice. But can the three candidates running credibly claim to represent the segment of the electorate denied the choice to vote for Steen?
