Presidential Election 2025

so the Israelis voted them in in 2006?

A vote for Connolly is a vote for Mary Lou as next Taoiseach

To ignore that she said 'some of what is happening' is cheap and inaccurate and offensive to truthful reporting.

Even if all you are saying is true, and I'd say you are somewhat over exaggerating, Connolly has consistently campaigned against the social injustice in this country perpetuated by the parties that are represented by the other two candidates so she is still the best of the 3 candidates we have

I guess if some unknown on the internet says it's true then it must be

FF and FG have effectively turned UHL into the building that people go to to die instead of getting better. They have guaranteed that there will be huge swathes of Irish families in the future who will never own their own home. The 2 parties are probably in high level negotiations deciding what next to destroy

In my mind, and in the mind of any sensible person, these parties have done far worse in their lifetime than anything Connolly will ever pass a few remarks about

I'm afraid I will doing a "Monty Brewster" on my ballot. "Who ya gona vote for?" —"None of the above!!!")

If all she had talked about were areas of societal and social justice, this would be a radically different campaign. She is a politician, who as you say, has a long history of campaigning on these topics. And there are a wealth of issues she could challenge on

• Budget 2026 is going to be the harshest in a number of years, as FFG have returned to form, and removed any extra assistance for those on welfare payments. Tax credits may be given, but one off payments to help those most vulnerable are off the table.
• Despite literally acknowledging that fuel costs are rising, especially this year. There will be no energy credit at all in budget 2026
• With the expiring of the temporary 1000euro reduction on student fees, the government is putting in place a perminant 500 euro reduction. You dont need foundation maths to see that functionally, that is a 500 euro increase in student fees. And this in a country that ON PAPER, has free third level education at undergrad level
• Social housing has been repeatidly botched, and the term affordible housing has been 'fudged' into its place. Its clear FFG value, above all else, the large property development industry, and will never do anything to jeopardize its interests.
• Broader Healthcare, and Mental Healthcare are again discussed at length regularly, but nothing is actually put in place. I have personal family connections to this issue, and i know one family member who waited 12 months before they were able to receive regular councilling, to say nothing of psychiatric healthcare

Im probably leaving out a lot - but the above talking points could have framed the entire debate around this election. These issues could have been to the forefront, which could easily have impacted government policy moving forward. Not directly, as its not in the remit of the President to change any of the above. But as campaign talking points - these could have been front and center.

CC had to understand, that bringing contentious foreign policy issues to the table, would re-frame the election onto those issues. She understood this, yet she continued on that line, which is why it is still being discussed today - and will probably feature centrally in the election as a whole. Its a staggering error of judgement, and again, it goes toward diminishing her credibility for the role of president. Topics are flown like kites, for all to see, and end up being discussed and debated by all; both inside and outside the halls of power. Clearly CC knows this, and decided Israel/Gaza, European/German-Rearming, and US Foreign Policy - are her major concerns.

Its not merely a mistake - its bordering on ridiculous. And it diminishes her credibility in my eyes- Even if she pivots to the above social issues during the campaign, the fires she has set will still be burning over the next few weeks.

A non FFG candidate would have a magnificent chance if they knew what they were doing.

Connolly seems clueless.