Radical leftist candidate becomes president of Ireland. Catherine Connolly criticizes the rearmament of Europe
Catherine Connolly, after voting in the presidential election Photo: Brian Lawless, PA Images / Alamy / Profimedia
Catherine Connolly, a member of parliament from the radical left of Ireland, was elected president with a large majority, and the ruling parties admitted that they had suffered a severe defeat, writes Reuters.
Catherine Connolly (68) ran as an independent with the support of the entire left-wing opposition. Preliminary estimates of the vote show that they won by double the score of the next candidate, a dignitary who is part of one of the ruling parties.
Fine Gael general secretary John Carroll told RTE that the figures showed independent Connolly would win more than 60 per cent of the vote, while his party's candidate, former minister Heather Humphreys, was likely to get just under 30 per cent. “It seems likely that Catherine Connolly will be elected and the government will have to work with her,” said Higher Education Minister James Lawless, a member of Fianna Fail, another ruling party.
Connolly has long been a critic of the European Union in an overwhelmingly pro-European Ireland, repeatedly denouncing EU plans to increase military spending.
Many of his views — from questioning the positions of the US, Britain and France on the Gaza war to comparing Germany's rearmament to that of the 1930s — are far to the left of many of the parties that have supported it, including incumbent President Michael D. Higgins.
The President of Ireland has more of a ceremonial role, with rarely used powers to review the constitutionality of laws, but has foreign policy powers.
Connolly was a psychologist and lawyer and served as deputy speaker of the lower house after she was first elected in 2016. During the campaign she managed to appeal to the young electorate with criticism of the government on, among other things, housing.
It also benefited from the problems in the center-right coalition, which was recently reconfirmed in power. Humphreys was hastily appointed as the running mate after the first candidate withdrew due to illness. Fianna Fail candidate, former Gaelic football coach Jim Gavin, has withdrawn due to a financial scandal.
