System stands in the way of democracy

THE decision by Fianna Fáil MEP Brian Crowley to write to all of his party’s Dáil deputies, senators and MEPs reaffirming his intention to seek the party’s nomination to contest the presidential election brings a new intensity to the debate over the election.

It also pushes FF leader Micheál Martin into a tighter corner than he might like.

So great was the humiliation endured by FF in February that it was imagined that the party might not run a candidate but rather endorse an independent, possibly one from the party’s spectacularly inclusive gene pool.

That would be an intolerable downfall for the party that has provided five of the Republic’s eight presidents. Mr Crowley must hope past glories will mean enough to enough of his party colleagues to convince them to fight the election and possibly secure him a nomination — even if he has to bypass the party leadership to secure it. It has been suggested that Mr Martin might prefer that Mr Crowley stand in the next general election to use his undoubted popularity to try to win a Dáil seat.

This vignette highlights another flaw in our electoral system. A party rejected by the electorate retains the capacity to nominate a candidate but the person topping nearly all of the opinion polls — Senator David Norris — cannot be certain of a nomination. Hardly democracy in action.