Presidential election - Candidates have to be relevant

Following the deadline for the nomination of presidential candidates at 12pm yesterday, we now know there will be seven candidates. The campaign can therefore begin in earnest.

The office is supposed to be above politics and has generally been so. Only three political parties have nominated candidates this time — Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin. In almost three quarters of a century, since the inception of the presidency in 1938, Fianna Fáil has essentially nominated every president but one — Mary Robinson, who was nominated by Labour in 1990.

Candidates will hopefully concentrate their campaigns on ways the President can play the most effective part in helping to address current problems, within the constitutional parameters of the office that have already been set. In the process, they should stress why the presidency is still relevant.