Louise Burne: Presidential poll gives candidates a jolt, but better debate performance needed

All three candidates need to step it up on campaign trail

All three candidates headed out to RTÉ on Sunday to take part in the national broadcaster’s first debate of the campaign on The Week in Politics.

After a slow and boring start to the presidential campaign, the candidates appear to have finally woken up and realised that they are contesting an election.

After a sleepy start and a poor debate on Monday, independent candidate Catherine Connolly, Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys, and Jim Gavin of Fianna Fáil obviously did their homework and brushed up on their debating skills.

But, if you were to fill out a report card, the overriding criticism would still be “still needs improvement”.

All three candidates headed out to RTÉ on Sunday to take part in the national broadcaster’s first debate of the campaign on The Week in Politics.

While the debate was not a blockbuster, it was certainly a lot less lacklustre than the initial Virgin Media debate, which was more of a conversation than a debate.

At one point, you even had candidates talking over each other. Imagine that.

Perhaps it was the poll that gave all the candidates a little bit more energy.

Opinion poll

The debate came hours after the release of the first opinion poll of the presidential election was released by the Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks.

Ms Connolly was leading the pack on 32%, followed by Ms Humphreys on 23%. Mr Gavin was languishing behind on just 15%.

The transfers are even more interesting. They suggest that when Mr Gavin is eliminated, Ms Connolly would soar ahead by eight points to 53%, compared to Ms Humphreys on 47%.

Although much improved, Mr Gavin, once again, was unable to think on his feet. 

He had his prepared answers and, no matter what the question, he relied again on his script rather than actually answering the question he was asked

At one point, he even whipped out a cue card he had been sitting on to remind himself what he had said about Israel. It is not a good look.

Heather Humphreys, meanwhile, came across far more assured than she did in the initial debate, where many described her as “anonymous”.

She was far less softly spoken and was thinking on her toes to pull others up.

During a question on Irish unity, Mr Gavin noted that he had travelled to the north of Ireland with sporting teams, while Ms Connolly spoke about going north in a “personal capacity” and having meetings about the Irish language.

Ms Humphreys, a Presbyterian from a border county, hit back with, “I don’t just go on day trips”.

These are the quick quips that all candidates need to be able to deliver.

When Ms Connolly was addressing the Éirigi scandal, Ms Humphreys was needling her, while Mr Gavin was largely silent.

However, he started to wake up a little bit during the second half, coming into his own while discussing comfortable topics, such as defence

Ms Connolly came across as calm, cool and collected, like she always does. Despite having to address several controversies, she was able to deal with all of it during the debate. Her interactions with the media afterwards were far less assured.

She was well prepared and briefed but not scripted.

She was, once again, probably the strongest performer. But, unlike the last debate, Ms Humphreys was breathing down her neck.

If you were to declare a winner, you would say it was a two-way tie between Humphreys and Connolly.

But, as we have seen in elections, three weeks is a long time. And all three candidates need to step it up.