Viva El Presidente!

The mugs will never learn!

The Irish presidential elections are coming up and, unlike previous years, there's a huge focus on this one, despite the fact that many people see it as just a 'token' role. The fact is the country is in the shit and representing Ireland at this time could have a real impact on how the country is seen abroad. Moreover, it's not inconceivable that, considering the position Ireland has found itself in with ever-decreasing sovereignty, the role of the president could prove pivotal during the new president's next term. Of course, this entirely depends on who is elected.

The usual suspects.
So far the campaign has been intensely negative. The media are tearing every candidate apart in every way possible. There has been no focus on the positive attributes that any of the candidates can bring.

Having said that, there are very few stand out candidates. As usual, the Dail seems intent on putting forward the usual suspects, a rag-tag bunch of teachers and farmers, much like those already happily interned in the Dail that have done so much damage to the country and so little to do to rectify any of it.

More FF puppetry.
Mary Davis, for example, is a prime example having chaired quangos set up by Fianna Fail, the party responsible for bringing the country to its knees. These are the same pointless, yet expensive, quangos Fianna Gael promised to reduce when it came to power and like many of its pre-election promises failed to deliver on. So, I hope she hasn't started packing for Phoenix Park yet, because the people ain't going vote for a puppet.

Dana may have won the Eurovision Song Contest a few thousand years ago, but she will struggle to get anywhere near enough votes to win this particular contest. It really will be a case of Dana - nil points.

The big elephant in the room is Sean Gallagher. He's currently leading the polls but I have no idea why. A former farmer and a panellist on a reality TV programme, Dragon's Den, a show, that in my opinion, like the government, has done nothing for start-ups and entrepreneurs. On the contrary, the 'dragons' appear to take advantage of the hopeful 'contestants' on the show. Add to this that he's played a key role in Fianna Fail for 30 years; the party that has sold Ireland's sovereignty and brought the country to its knees. And if all that wasn't enough it now appears that he has taken a €5000 brown envelope from a convicted criminal - just like so many of his FF buddies during the the good ol' days of the celtic tiger. How the Irish people could vote for someone so tied into the FF culture of cronyism that led to Ireland's spectacular fall from grace is beyond me? Yet, he has a good chance of winning and, in the process, make us look like 'stupid paddys' on the world stage, reinforcing the message of the Greek austerity protesters when they cried: 'We're not Ireland'. Meanwhile Greece will be laughing all the way to the bank with as much as 50% wiped off their debt.

Then there's Michael D. Higgins, one of the people's favorites, a 'politician' and an OAP. The big question is will he survive the term of office? Probably not!

Gay Mitchel who started as one of the favourites doomed himself through a series of TV appearances proving that FG are no different that FF. He really reminds me of a demented Dalek politician in the way that he's stolen Enda Kenny's arm gestures, which in turn were nicked from Tony Blair.

Now, if the presidential position is a 'token' showy role, then gay rights campaigner David Norris is ideal. I hear he makes a great cup of tea and will be a spiffing entertainer for the heads of world governments. But he's already left the race once due to pressure from the scandal resulting from the time he appealed for clemency for a partner who was found guilty of statutory rape and that portrays him as a man that doesn't stand by his convictions when things get rough.

One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter.
That leaves Michael Mc Guinness. When it comes to CVs, his out-trumps everyone else's on the list by a mind-boggling margin. A former leader of the Irish Republican Army, he helped cement the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and, against all odds, brought peace to the north. He's now Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and has been responsible for bringing in hundreds of new jobs to the island. Stauncher-than-staunch arch enemies such as Ian Paisley get on with him and even confess to liking this charismatic man, yet it appears that most of the Republic of Ireland think that appointing a former 'terrorist' is a bridge too far. It seems that former president Eamon DeValera was the right sort of 'terrorist', despite being sentenced to death for his 'crimes against the state'.

You take your choice; you live with the consequences.
Well, that's a pity, because when Fianna Gael give the rest of our sovereignty away, the president will be the only one left who can speak out on behalf of the suffering of the Irish people. And when the Irish people are raped by the Irish government on the orders of our IMF/EU overlords in the December budget, effectively ending Fianna Gael's honeymoon period, the people of Ireland will desperately look to the Aras for someone with the balls to speak out for them. Unless Martin McGuinness is there, the silence will be deafening.