“It shouldn’t be just a nod and a wink, ‘arra go on there you’re sound as a bell.”
An Ireland Thinks/Irish Daily Mail poll revealed that 76% of Irish people want to see Michael D. Higgins return as President for a second term.
Although the President himself has yet to confirm that he will run for a second, seven-year term, the survey found that over three-quarters of the country want the Limerick-born sociologist to remain in Áras an Uachtaráin.
There have been talks that Higgins has indicated his intentions to stay on privately and no clear runner has come forward to contest the election meaning Higgins would be given a free run at the Presidency.
This will not happen if Roscommon Galway Independent TD, Michael Fitzmaurice, has his say though.
In an eight-minute interview on Ocean FM, Fitzmaurice said he didn’t think that Higgins should be selected by default and that if no one else chose to run, he would.
Fitzmaurice believes the concept of “whoever is there, let them work away” should not apply in this situation.
“I made it very clear that there should always be, in any democratic society for any office held, there should be a race. It shouldn’t be just a nod and a wink, ara go on there you’re sound as a bell.”
“I’m not questioning whether he is good or not good, in the interest of democracy, the position should be challenged.”
Fitzmaurice also believed that the role of President should allow the person in charge to be more vocal about certain things happening in the country.
Ocean FM host Niall Delaney’s suggestion that the election was not as high of a priority as the local election, and therefore shouldn’t be held unless it had to be, was not something that went down well with Fitzmaurice.
“We do need another contest, the Presidential election should be the highest and main priority above all other elections.”
He concluded by saying he would be very disappointed if Ireland’s political parties did not run a main competitor against Higgins and that if they didn’t, he would stick to his word and run himself.
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