Sir, – The negative campaigning evident in the presidential campaign, including using sexual and gender-based violence analogies as a political weapon, is both unedifying and disrespectful to survivors of abuse. The candidates should focus more on what they have to offer as a president.

The left exists democratically, people vote for it, and it is not a complete aberration, or pariah as is being suggested. Two recent presidents, Mary Robinson and Michael D Higgins, were from the left.

The current election also has echoes of how Mary McAleese’s background (not Orange as in Heather Humphreys case but “Green”, a Belfast Catholic) was targeted during her campaign (which is discussed in her biography).

Yet as a president she quietly reached out to unionists and had an important role in the peace process. If Heather Humphreys is elected president, she likewise will need to reach out and appeal to nationalists and republicans, and not just her own religious group.

Let’s not also forget Pádraig Flynn’s remarks on an RTÉ radio programme in 1990, which he apologised for. He accused presidential candidate, Mary Robinson, of changing her image to suit the fashion of the time and of finding a newfound interest in her family. I van Yates recent political advice was to smear, smear, smear. The history of our female presidents’ campaigns shows none of this works. Mná na hÉireann are listening. – Yours, etc,

PROF LINDA CONNOLLY,

Maynooth University

Social Sciences Institute,

Maynooth University,

Kildare.

Sir, – The latest opinion poll of the voting intentions in the forthcoming presidential election suggest that Catherine Connolly is in a commanding lead over Heather Humphreys. The analyses of the results are both comprehensive and interesting.

What the poll does not identify is the effect of the intervention of former minister Ivan Yates, and his exhortation to Fine Gael to “smear the bejaysus” out of the opponent.

Even by the highly competitive nature of our presidential elections, the sentiment was crass and made an already dirty campaign even more tawdry.

This voter was in the ran