Selecting an Áras candidate: Presidency is not a prize for failure

Though hardly a household name in this Republic, the former leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, is expected to be knighted in the New Year’s honours’ list.

Though hardly a household name in this Republic, the former leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, is expected to be knighted in the New Year’s honours’ list.

That grace-and-favour elevation is an annual reaffirmation of the values of the British establishment. It reinforces the status quo and keeps central, supporting figures in the limelight.