Presidential race - Integrity of politics under threat

LAST February’s evisceration of Fianna Fáil at the polls was a direct response to their championing of the Hollywood slogan that greed is good, to their lazy, self-serving conservatism and to their habit of borrowing money to buy support that beggared the country.

However, that unprecedented vote was an indictment of our entire political system too. Such an absolute rejection expressed the outrage felt by an electorate traditionally content to suffer in silence and vote along tribal lines. The vote was a judgment on a system that facilitated greater division between rich and poor, the protection of privilege and the type of soft corruption epitomised unvouched expenses for politicians.

It was a rejection of a political class that presided over failed regulatory authorities and a system that has yet to show it is prepared to tackle white-collar — or clerical — crime in any meaningful way. The electorate voted for great change, and may do so again. Not only has our Government got to rebuild the economy, our self-respect and our international image, it has to restore our faith in the business of politics. It has to show that politics is more than a process that embeds privilege and indulges vanity. The scale of this challenge can not be underestimated.

If you think this is unimportant, then just take a look at what has happened in London and other English cities over recent days. It is nonsense to suggest that rioters and looters are making a political point but their behaviour is a consequence of political failure.

The next opportunity for the Irish electorate to vote will be on October 27, when we will elect a president. Although that is just over two months away, the performance of nearly all political parties — Labour being the exception — in regard to this election has been so poor that they are in danger of further discrediting their profession and demeaning the office of the president.

Fianna Fáil, despite having whole battalions of experienced, relatively young and inactive former cabinet members amongst its membership, is trying to encourage veteran entertainer Gay Byrne to run. Does Micheál Martin really think this will serve the country best? Does he think this will serve Fianna Fáil best? Or does he even care that such a candidacy, a tacit admission of political bankruptcy — or over-generous pensions — if ever there was one, will undermine the credibility of our political system? Does he really think that Gay Byrne, the finest broadcaster this country has produced, a man who built a career on a potent mix of bile and populism, is the best person to succeed President McAleese?

Fine Gael’s position is not as pathetic but it is far from ideal. Had Enda Kenny and his wing-man Phil Hogan applied the ruthlessness they used to crush Richard Bruton’s failed putsch then it is a fair bet that Gay Mitchell would not be their candidate.

The political parties may regard this as an internal matter but at this moment, when everything seems so buckled, almost broken, when faith in politics is at such a low ebb, that is not the case. They, by their actions, define the political process. If they want us to belive that politics can be an agent for real change, they must do much better.

By not doing so they run the risk of having to face the challenges preoccupying David Cameron today.