This old article from the irish independent dated 2004 states my view too. Though as this is post lisbon, the fact that there wasn’t an election years ago is just a good example of a poor president who did not state to the government that the constitution cleary says in Article five that the country is democratic. A presidential election is one piece of a democracy in a republic. As the Irish say ‘Up the republic’.
McAleese: why she’s set for the seven-year pitch
Dana’s brother, John Brown, campaign manager for her failed presidential candidacy in 1997 and for the Euro elections, says she is waiting for President McAleese to declare her intentions before announcing if she is going to contest the election. The team is undeterred by the scoffing in some quarters at the prospect of Dana’s name on the ballot paper so soon after losing her Euro seat and having failed to beat McAleese seven years ago for the Aras.
“There was an increase in her vote in the Euro elections. It certainly wasn’t a vote collapse,” argues Brown. “As for the presidential election, the issues are totally different this time. We are at a pivotal stage in Irish history where we’re talking about the final nail in Ireland’s coffin as a sovereign state. At the time of the Nice referendum, President McAleese said it was a good model for Europe. Fianna Fail is integrationist. The question that needs to be asked is, if the Irish people ratify the European constitution, will she sign it?”
Conversely, a source in the McAleese circle claims it is foolish of Dana to campaign on the constitution issue because, should she be elected president, she would be prohibited from joining in any referendum debate by the constraints of the office. Before that scenario could materialise, she would be forced to engage in a one-sided debate with an incumbent candidate constitutionally bound to silence. A Prime Time head-to-head, for instance, would be unfeasible
We are at a pivotal stage in Irish history where we’re talking about the final nail in Ireland’s coffin as a sovereign state. At the time of the Nice referendum, President McAleese said it was a good model for Europe. Fianna Fail is integrationist. The question that needs to be asked is, if the Irish people ratify the European constitution, will she sign it?”
It isn’t about the fact that the president has no power in that area, as the constitution clearly states there is no say. But it is the thought that counts, the philosophy that makes sense.
If you take an oath to maintain a constitution and the fact that there is suspicion and lies concerning the subject of the EU, then what is more important, the country’s constitution or an EU one.
