Irish Examiner view: Let's keep the general election clean and civil

When a candidate knocks at a voter's door, mutual engagement and not abuse is the path to resolving issues that voter might have

Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman and his parliamentary party colleagues on the plinth outside Leinster House on Thursday. Picture: Leah Farrell/Rolling News

Friday’s formal announcement of an election could be described in several different ways, but it certainly couldn’t be called a surprise. If anything we seem to have been teetering on the edge of a full-blown campaign for weeks at this point, with some participants already in full canvassing mode.

It might be timely, then, to remind all involved that disagreeing with someone on policy is not a licence to dish out abuse, either verbal or physical.