Friday, September 16, 2011
HONESTLY now, how many people could remember fully and explain properly the circumstances in which Senator David Norris withdrew from his campaign to secure a nomination to contest next month’s Presidential election, before all of the returned publicity of recent days?
You have been reminded because of the possibility of Norris re-entering the contest. You should get another chance to refresh your memory tonight when Norris is due to appear on The Late Late Show. He appears to be on a mission.
Here are the bare bones of the issue that had seemed to bring Norris down: many years ago Norris lobbied the Israeli courts on behalf of his convicted partner, a man who had been found guilty of engaging in sex with a minor — the crime of statutory rape — arguing that he should be spared a custodial sentence. It was a very forgiving approach to have taken: most people would not be happy to discover that their partner was having sex with someone else, most particularly an under-age boy.
In normal circumstances this would have been a private matter to Norris. But a number of things made the Norris situation most pertinent to the public: he had used his position as a senator of the Irish houses of the Oireachtas as his bona fides for arguing the case. He had also pointedly ignored mentioning the case during an earlier controversy over his views on the crimes of paedophilia and pederasty. He had given an interview many years ago in which he spoke understandingly about sexual relationships between men and teenage boys who were being "guided" in their maturing sexuality. He clarified subsequently that he did not approve of such behaviour — which many would regard as opportunistic "grooming" by a predatory older man, just as such behaviour by a man towards a teenage girl, or woman towards a teenage boy would be unacceptable — but the even later disclosure that his own partner had been convicted in the courts for just that offence was remarkable.
In retrospect it is no surprise that some of his own campaign team quit, that some of those prepared to propose him withdrew their support and that Norris was forced to pull out.
Tonight won’t be Norris’s first time to face intense public questioning on the issue. Norris was interviewed by Anton Savage on The Last Word on the day in August when he abandoned his campaign. Now he is appearing in front of the mass audience that The Late Late Show offers as the most watched television programme in the country. Has he planned to use the occasion as a launching pad for an attempted re-entry to the race? Getting Norris to come onto the programme and talk about the circumstances in which he quit the race — and how he has dealt with his disappointment subsequently — would be good enough any way but it would be a great scoop for the programme if Norris was to use it as a platform to say he was back in. I suggest that it would be very foolish for Norris to declare a return on tonight’s programme without first assessing the public reaction to his performance. It’s how others regard it and not how he feels he did, that should guide him and his advisers.
Ryan Tubridy is not in an easy position. An overly tough interview by Tubridy, that Norris might resent, might actually provoke public sympathy for Norris. A light and non-probing one, that Norris might enjoy if he feels under no pressure, could actually be counter-productive to him if the public perceives that he is not being asked the right questions or is being allowed to brush over serious matters. I expect Tubridy will be relatively tough but measured and fair and will address all of the relevant issues. Post-match analysis, so to speak, shouldn’t be about Tubridy’s questions or manner of delivering but how Norris behaves.
Norris is clearly articulate and his ebullience is one of his most appealing features to many, but if he appears too jolly it will seem flippant. He is a serious man, as befits a scholar, but without humour that can appear pompous. If he is looking to re-establish himself as a candidate he is likely to be very nervous; if he is looking to re-establish his reputation as an individual he is likely to be less intense but he cannot appear dismissive or unconcerned. Complicated isn’t it? If he wants to return to the electoral fray then he has three constituencies to convince. One is the general public, the second are those who would nominate him and the third are those who would campaign for him. The public may be the easiest to win over but possibly not in sufficient number to win the election. Getting the nomination may be the biggest struggle and indeed after yesterday’s meeting with independents in Leinster House, Norris may go into tonight’s programme knowing that the task may be beyond him. And even if it isn’t getting the support team around him may be very difficult. It is very significant that a large number of them went from the campaign before he did.
There is a considerable argument that the people should be allowed to decide whether Norris is a fit candidate to be President. But a whole new set of questions will be asked if he rejoins the race. They will be mainly be about his judgment but they will also be about his ego. What cause would be served by his rejoining the race other than pandering to that? This has the danger of looking as if it’s all about what the presidency can do for Norris than what he can do for it.
FIANNA Fáil has decided not to take part in the presidential election, presumably for fear of further humiliation, even if that will never be articulated formally. But it is not the only one who won’t take part because of the fear of being seen to lose. The same apparently applies to Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Féin.
Adams has insisted that he is not interested in the job. I’ll bet that he’d be very interested if he thought he could win. He would by far be his party’s best chance of achieving success, with only Martin McGuinness perhaps being able to match his level of support. If an internal Sinn Féin candidate is to run then Adams is the only one who would command a significant portion of the vote. But I doubt it would be enough and I suspect that Sinn Féin has tested the proposition and come to that conclusion too. As it rises in the Republic it can take setbacks, such as Mary Lou McDonald failing to win seats, as happened previously in two elections before she finally made it to the Dáil, but it can’t have its main man falter.
The people of the republic are not ready to endorse Adams in this way though — and I think they never will. Sinn Féin is likely to prosper in the next local, European and general elections by clever use of populism. It would put back the project if his ego was indulged by running him — and that same ego would be damaged if he lost. So what does Sinn Fein do? It is to be hoped that it is not so cynical as to exploit the public affection for a major figure who has been affected by personal tragedy in recent times, by asking him to run for office as an independent, with their backing. There have been rumours to that effect in recent days, that a man, whom I won’t name, would be asked to stand on the basis that he would have a good chance of winning (and he might). But he has had an awful year and could hardly be in the right frame of mind to make such a decision.
The Last Word with Matt Cooper is broadcast on 100-102 Today FM, Monday to Friday, 4.30pm to 7pm.
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