Independents’ Day?

“WHO are these people?”

Although their chances are better than ever before, that one simple question, posed by a blogger on the popular Politics.ie website, encapsulates the difficulties first-time independents face in their bid to capture the public mood.

The number of independents running in this election has risen dramatically from 90 in 2007 up to 202 (this figure also includes supporters of parties not officially registered), but it remains to be seen whether they can capitalise in a meaningful way.