Presidential Election 2025

100%. The holier than thou FFG supporters seem to think they have some sort of moral high ground, but can't or wont see the damage their own crew have done over many years. Its their usual approach though so not surprising.

People should also recognise, that a lot of people are sick to the back teeth of listening to Gaza, Palestine, Ukraine from our own media and politicians, and are unlikely to make a voting decision based on someone's opinion of what's happening/ should happen there. I get some people are really engaged with what's happening but a lot of people are not, and as said are sick of it dominating public discourse in the country. Its not a top priority for many people. Recent polls bear that out.

That is as irrelevant to the presidency as is the wacko foreign policy stuff.

she still let herself and the office she held down badly. A contempt for the office is what she displayed!

Yes it is, but equally, it is less choppy water. And it can impact politics in ireland.

Listen if we reduced this down to things that are purely relevent to the presidency - it would be farce.

• Is a candidate capable of smiling, and shaking hands with visiting dignitaries
• Do they mind attending sporting events and shaking hands with all of the players
• Do they know how to sign bills.
• Are they capable of travelling by aircraft to foreign countries, and promoting Ireland

We can muck about, and im obviously being hyperbolic - but previous campaigns have shed light on issues of consequence, and candidates have pushed societal issues into the public light - where they can be debated, and eventually, impact peoples votes during more relevant General, Local, and European Elections.

I agree with you in principle, but candidates for the presidency can have a impact on public opinion. And the point i was trying to make was that CC could highlight societal and social issues of consequence. Which is why i mentioned cost of living, healthcare, education, and housing. We could add her affinity for the Irish language, and honestly the CC campaign starts to grow legs, and could achieve a lot. If she had stuck to these topics, we would not be seeing a whirlwind of controversy surrounding her campaign thats for sure

Thats horseshit. I've listended to several interviews with her, and it is the media bringing it up with her consistently, so she can't not comment on it, can she? Jim Gavin has also made several comments on it, including his military campaign/objectives stuff, but he seems more interested in climbing walls and buttering scones than anything else going by his social media campaign. I don't listen to HH, I switch her off straight away so couldnt tell you what she has said or not.

Right now I wont be voting for any of them so I could care less, but its very obvious that painting CC as some kind of loony commy is tactical and is the usual FFG bull, with their media friends quite happy to tag along.

 And the point i was trying to make was that CC could highlight societal and social issues of consequence. Which is why i mentioned cost of living, healthcare, education, and housing.

For someone renowned as an ideologue Connolly's politics are oddly generic and indistinct apart from the foreign policy stuff. And this IMO makes it harder for her to 'build a brand' among voters who wouldn't automatically vote for the left candidate. Off the top of my head I couldn't name one specific 'indigenous' political cause she has been strongly associated with…

Yea its a tough nut to crack. Were we talking about seminars in colleges, or someone seeking to be elected as a TD - i would agree with you that it would be admirable of her to talk on these issues. I dont agree with her on many aspects of foreign policy, but i would certainly respect her for having her strongly held opinions.

The trouble is, as you say, the government are getting their free pass. Its not at all surprising that JG and HH are happy enough with that - but CC should be reigning herself back to matters of domestic societal issues. The fact she is being asked about FP is unsurprising, but she should be reigning it in, and pivoting to matters which are less contentious

Early days, maybe things land on something sensible - i hope so.

No, someone who draws a comparison to Hitler and refers to modern Germany increasing its arms expenditure in response to Russian threats to its European partners is a looney, this is not bull of any sort, and something which any responsible person would abhor.

CC was on saying that we don't want war. Of course we don't want war, but what is the alternative to arming to provide a deterrent, just let Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and even Poland be occupied by Russia Why are SF happy to support a candidate who believes that these countries should be sacrificed to their imperial neighbour? They do not come from a turn the other cheek tradition.

Why the need to be dishonest in your posts?

She said the military build up in Germany has echos of the 30s....factually correct.

Her comment re France was in relation to their entrenchment in the arms industry and the bloodshed it causes...factually correct.

America is an imperial power, to deny so would be dishonesty on a Trumpian scale...so again factually correct.

Starmer was dictating to the people of Gaza and Palestine who will and won't be involved in the rebuilding/running of their region after the slaughter he supports is concluded...she correctly said that's not for him to decide...you really need to park your NATO driven ideology and perspective and try to adopt some form of objective analysis in your writing.

Oh definitely. The protests I've witnessed on a few Saturday mornings over the last 2 years have been dwindling and are now a shadow of their former selves. The majority of the country just don't care anymore, if they ever really did

I think it's very smart by Connolly to be getting her views on these out into the public mindset in the early stages of the election campaign. Gives us the ability to focus on the FF/FG policies as the election draws nearer

Shared platforms, meetings, resources and canvassing all help building the Left Bloc which is SF's only route to power (as they realised and, laughably, tried to forge 24 hours before the last election). Having Connolly win would give all involved enough of a dopamine rush to carry the alliance through to the next GE.

They're also saving McDonald from harsh scrutiny as she could hardly afford another poor election which is what any SF candidate other than herself would have resulted in.

I know that you're right, I know I was wrong

So thanks very much, please keep in touch, I'll be running along

I remember hearing somewhere a few months ago (may have been Irish Times politics podcast, can't remember but doesn't matter) that the person elected as president will immediately look presidential. The office makes the person or something like that.