If Maria Steen and her allies had run a better-planned and more carefully executed campaign, she would probably be on the ballot paper now. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
It’s hard to escape the conclusion that Maria Steen should really be on the ballot paper for the presidential election.
In a very short period of time, her campaign garnered significant support from the public and their elected representatives, both in the Oireachtas and on local authorities. She is clearly a serious person, with a record of participation in major public debates. She didn’t run for attention, nor is she a crank or a gobshite. She would not have embarrassed herself or anyone else in the election campaign. She would not have flopped at the polls. She would have enhanced, not diminished, the debate over the next four weeks.
That does not mean that anyone who has profound political disagreemen
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