Awful prospect - Trump, Clinton neck-and-neck

THIS time last year, Donald Trump’s White House candidacy seemed something that could be ignored like a slightly drunk, entirely boring and difficult uncle at a wedding.

His racist, boorish, and uninformed declarations made it hard to take him and his ambitions seriously. That luxury can’t be afforded any longer.

He has been utterly underestimated and the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll puts him neck-and-neck with the likely Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. In the survey, 41% of likely voters supported Mrs Clinton, and 40% backed Mr Trump, while 19% remain undecided. Just last week, Mrs Clinton led Mr Trump by around 13 points.

Irish officials are working to prepare for the grim prospect of Britain quitting the European Union — a possibility not too far from becoming a probability — but it is unlikely that they have done too much work on preparing for a Trump presidency. They are not alone. The very idea of The Donald in the Oval Office is frightening and would be as great a threat to world stability as any in half a century.