Labour myth-makers fail to rewrite the true history of the presidency

THE Labour Party likes to spin a tale about how it single-handedly ‘transformed’ the office of the President.

In the Labour fantasyland life began and ended with the Mary Robinson presidency. In this parallel reality it is also an unquestioned truth that Labour, and Labour alone, is responsible for putting competition into presidential elections.

The 'how Labour saved the presidency' myth would be entertaining if it wasn't so blatantly self-serving. At the start of a year in which we may have a presidential election, it is worth putting a few nuggets of reality on the scales of Irish presidential history to weigh against this Labour revisionism.

For a start in the 'before Robinson' era the office of President wasn't as staid or as uncontested as some in Labour would like us to believe neither was it such a cosy retirement arrangement for senior Fianna Fáil figures.

Believe it or not, there were actually presidential elections before the one in which Mary Robinson was elected. Even de Valera had to fight for the office twice. In fact he scraped through by the skin of his teeth against Fine Gael's Tom O'Higgins in 1966.

In fact, in 1973, there was a particularly colourful presidential election not least because of Erskine Childers' 'Wanderly Wagon' nationwide bus tour.

Childers won and began to implement genuinely radical ideas about expanding the scope of the office within its constitutional limits. Sadly he died within a year, cutting short his ambitions to expand the office.

It was only after Childers' death that a phase of unopposed Presidents kicked in. The former Chief Justice, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (who led the most radical Supreme Court this country has ever seen) was nominated by Fianna Fáil to fill the vacancy. The Fine Gael-Labour government decided not to oppose him.

Far from enabling Ó Dálaigh to expand the office, the Fine Gael-Labour government undermined him.

In 1976, when he exercised his power to refer the Offences Against the State Act to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality, he was denounced as a "thundering disgrace" by the Minister for Defence, Paddy Donegan.

When the Fine Gael-Labour government failed to distance itself from these remarks, the President was left with no choice but to resign. For the record, Fine Gael has actually been more instrumental in instigating contests in presidential elections than Labour has.

Of course until recent times Labour didn't have enough Oireachtas members on its own to nominate a presidential candidate. However, when in government, Labour never sought to change the Constitution to expand the nomination procedure.

In fact, Labour was often instrumental in dissuading Fine Gael from contesting.

In 1976, Fianna Fáil nominated Paddy Hillery to the vacancy caused by President Ó Dálaigh's resignation. Again the Fine Gael-Labour government did not oppose him.

It is true to say that Paddy Hillery's two terms as President were low-key. However, as the TV history programme Seven Ages reminded us, Paddy Hillery had been a dynamic minister.

In fact, when he succumbed to cross-party pressure to become President, he sacrificed further political ambition, which could even have seen him become Taoiseach. Hillery saw the key task during his time in the Áras as restoring the stature of the office after the Ó Dálaigh "thundering disgrace" debacle.

Labour has had one good presidential election but only one. Mary Robinson's election in 1992 was a product of its time. Labour and Robinson captured the mood of a confident, competitive, tolerant nation which wanted to make an important statement by electing its first female and first left of centre President.

Labour and Robinson deserve credit for that. Robinson deserves credit for reflecting and developing that mood in her presidency.

However, Labour did not provide much competition in the first 'after Robinson' presidential election. Labour like to remind us that they beat Brian Lenihan of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's Austin Currie for the Park in 1992.

However, they are quieter about the fact that they were beaten not just by Mary McAleese, but also by Mary Banotti of Fine Gael and by the independent (Dana) Rosemary Scallon in 1997.

Bannotti polled 29% of the first preference vote and Scallon 15%, while Adi Roche for Labour polled just 7%.

Now there are the beginnings of the spinning of a new Labour myth about the presidency for the 'after Robinson' era. Labour is trying to imply that the office of President has been less significant since Robinson left it.

Like everyone they have to accept that Mary McAleese has been a very good President, but in some undefined way they want to imply that the office has been 'diminished' during her term.

Again some reality checks are needed to dispel this myth before it begins to settle.

FIRSTLY, the lie in this insinuation needs to be nailed. Far from 'diminishing' the office, the McAleese presidency has been extraordinarily successful.

On both parts of this island, internationally and on various societal levels the work Mary McAleese has used her office to do has been significant and its impact will be enduring.

If she chooses to seek a second term it will be because there are still significant things which, in both public and private, she wants to use the office to achieve.

If Labour wants to go on insinuating that the office has been diminished during her tenure, let them be specific they will be refuted by the personal testimony of thousands about how the office has been enhanced by the skill and personality of its current incumbent.

Secondly the 'diminished' insinuation implies that Labour was always supportive of Mary Robinson's endeavours to enhance the office. Ironically, it was the Labour Party in government and Dick Spring in particular who opposed some of President Robinson's most creative moves.

I worked for almost a year as a special adviser to a Minister of State in Government Buildings during the Reynolds Fianna Fáil-Labour government.

One of the most entertaining aspects of that time was watching the amusement which Fianna Fáil ministers got when Spring and his advisers got worked up whenever Robinson wanted to do things like co-chair an international commission to review the United Nations or to travel to West Belfast and attend the same function as Gerry Adams.

The then government press secretary, Seán Duignan, who was a lot closer to the action than I ever was, colourfully recounts some of these tales in his memoir of that government. Albert was relaxed about things like this but Labour ministers couldn't hide their annoyance.

Readers may remember that Dick Spring was once even so brave as to share his displeasure at some of Robinson's initiatives with journalists at an 'off the record' lunch in Iveagh House.

Mary Robinson was a good President a damn good President but her legacy is not well served by Labour attempts to spin a new range of 'after Robinson' myths in a non-too-subtle attempt to have a dig at her successor.