That Labour Party assertion back in the day that ‘the seventies will be socialist’ may well have shaped today’s presidency a lot more than people care to admit.
As students of Irish politics will know, the 1970s in Ireland weren’t socialist and neither were the 1980’s for that matter. In fact, with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 it could be said that the wheels had come off socialism in Europe in spectacular fashion by the end of the 1980’s.
It’s strange then that this historic low point for Europe’s left marked a turn around in the fortunes of the Irish left. This is reflected in how the role of President of Ireland has changed. Indeed, it could be argued that over the last 25 years this same dynamic has also seen Ireland’s political centre shifting to the left.
But back to the role the office of President of Ireland may have played in bringing about this political realignment. In 1990, socialism may have been on the floor in Europe but that year’s Presidential election in Ireland provided an opportunity for a softer focus socialism swopping the hammer and sickle for designer tweeds and sweet talk about ‘equality’ and ‘inclusion’.
Labour selected Mary Robinson as its candidate for the 1990 contest. Best known before that as a somewhat academic and aloof lawyer, Robinson quickly adapted to her new ‘meet the people’ persona. A key person in her election campaign was Eoghan Harris better known up until then as a Workers’ Party member and far left activist and influencer on RTÉ’s current affairs output during the 1970’s and 80’s.
The basic thrust of Robinson’s campaign was that the office of President was outdated and needed to be made ‘relevant’. This, of course, ignored the obvious fact that the office – as defined by the Irish constitution – was always intended to be a low key ceremonial one involving legal oversight amongst other things.
The one thing that the constitution was emphatic about was that the job was a non-executive one and as such the holder was not permitted to stick their oar in either Irish or international political affairs. That was part and parcel of the job up until 1990 and was rigorously policed by the government. That’s also probably the bit that made the job of President ‘boring’ to many.
Robinson and her team were clearly on an electoral winner with their job re-invention. Pitching the job of President as a sort of Irish royal who would emote with the Irish people when required and represent them at home and abroad with style and flourish was always going to be an easier sell than the somewhat staid job description outlined in de Valera’s 1937 constitution.
The Robinson presidency starting in 1990 was basically the starting point for the talking up of the role of President. It may have begun with simple gestures like lighting candles in the window of the Árus for Irish emigrants but it has now blossomed into a full scale quasi executive role of President of Ireland.
This has seen the present incumbent feeling entitled to eulogise dead Cuban dictators, wish Iranian despots well in their endeavours and generally add his twopence worth to whatever global geopolitical situation catches his fancy. All of this is done without fear of sanction from the country’s political rulers which goes some way to demonstrate the extent to which Ireland has drifted leftwards over the last quarter century.
Another byproduct of the re-imagined office of President has been the ballooning cost associated with the role. President Higgins is on an annual salary of €332,000 per year making him the second-highest-paid head of state in Europe. That’s outside of the other perks of the job such as allowances and an Árus an Uachtaráin address.
That, you might think, is a modest enough salary for someone who fancies himself as a commentator on everything from the Middle East to climate change. Those of us who believe that that’s not the job he signed up to might think otherwise. In fact, a lot of people are of the opinion that he is being overpaid to do the job that he is supposed to be doing rather than the one he is actually doing.
Those financial costs have also carried over from the re-invention of the job by Mary Robinson in 1990. Having retired in 1997 after seven years of service, Robinson has been on a presidential pension for the last 28 years. This means she has now been on a pension for four times longer than she was in office!
In 2015, Robinson’s presidential pension was reported to be €127,000 per year. You don’t need an actuarial background to understand just how unviable that pension model is. However, it reinforces the impression that the left – which loves nothing more than to talk the talk about equality – also has an exaggerated view of its own financial value when it comes to public service.
The thing about the current presidential election slow bicycle race is that there is a complete absence of debate about what the job actually involves. What we are being treated to once again are auditions by various personalities for a job invented by the left in 1990. The curious thing is that even so-called populist would-be candidates appear to be playing along with the notion of a supercharged, quasi executive office.
The job description for the office of President of Ireland is clearly defined by the Irish constitution. So what if that’s boring – most jobs have an element of tedium which doesn’t make them any less important.
With a welter of potential candidates talking up the presidency into something it was never intended to be, perhaps the real opportunity now is for a candidate who seeks to re-imagine the office along its original lines. That might well mean a more low key, modest and, yes, cost effective presidency – one that all Irish people can be proud of.