Candidatitis
I first published this article in 2007 and then, slightly amended in
2016, 2022 and last year’s local government elections in the North. There are
four elections across the island within the next 5 weeks. So I thought this
would be a good time to republish Candidatitis again, slightly amended once
more.
It is my tribute to the majority of candidates who won’t get elected.
Good luck to them all. Good luck especially to Sinn Féin’s candidates. I hope
we have a great result. That’s all in the gift of the electorate. So I thank
all the voters as well as all the candidates.
Opinion polls have become an integral part of every election campaign.
Every newspaper and every broadcast outlet tries to second guess the electorate
by commissioning polls. And then their columnists or pundits spend a huge
amount of time analysing the poll they just commissioned.
So do many candidates. And their supporters. This can lead to mood
changes and other character changing tendencies. This can be very stressful. So
every candidate and everyone else should be mindful of the particular and
peculiar stresses and strains that come with being a candidate. It’s a form of
ailment called Candidatitis. It begins with the candidate coming to believe –
with a certainty known only to the prophets of old – that they are going to
win.
This syndrome is capable of moving even the most rational aspirant or
shy wallflower into a state of extreme self belief. It strikes without warning,
is no respecter of gender, and can infect the lowly municipal hopeful, the
aspiring Parliamentarian, as well as the lofty presidential wannabe.
I believe this is due to two factors. First of all most people
standing for election see little point in telling the voters that they are not
going to win. That just wouldn’t make sense. Of course not. So they say they
are going to win.
That's when Candidatitis starts. As the 'we are going to win' is
repeated time and time again it starts to have a hypnotic effect on the person
intoning the mantra.
Which brings me to the second factor. Most people encourage
Candidatitis. Unintentionally. Not even the candidate’s best friend will
say hold on, you haven't a chance. Except for the media. But no candidate
believes the media. And most candidates are never interviewed by the media
anyway.
So a victim of Candidatitis will take succour from any friendly word
from any punter. Even a 'good luck' takes on new meaning and 'I won't forget
ye' is akin to a full blooded endorsement.
So are we to pity sufferers of this ailment? Probably not.
They are mostly consenting adults, although some parties occasionally
run conscripts. In the main these are staunch party people who are persuaded to
run by more sinister elements who play on their loyalty and commitment. In some
cases these reluctant candidates run on the understanding that they are not
going to get elected. Their intervention, they are told, is to stop the vote
going elsewhere or to maintain the party's representative share of the vote. In
some cases this works. But in other cases, despite everything, our reluctant
hero, or heroine, actually gets elected. A friend of mine was condemned to
years on Belfast City council when his election campaign went horribly wrong.
He topped the poll.
That’s another problem in elections based on proportional
representation. Topping the poll is a must for some candidates. But in PR
elections such ambition creates a headache for party managers. If the aim is to
get a panel of party representatives elected they all have to come in fairly
evenly. This requires meticulous negotiations to carve up constituencies.
Implementing such arrangements make the implementation of the Good Friday
Agreement look easy.
It means only placing posters and distributing leaflets in specific
areas with clear instructions to the electorate on how we would like them to
vote. In some elections I have noticed that some candidates (not Sinn Féin
candidates folks) putting up posters in their colleagues territory. Not a good
sign.
It requires an inordinate amount of discipline on the candidates'
behalf not to fall into this trap. Many do. Some don’t. Some get really sneaky.
Particularly, as the day of reckoning comes closer. Panic attacks and an
allergy to losing can lead to some sufferers poaching a colleague's votes. This
is a very painful condition leading to serious outbreaks of nastiness and
reprisals and recriminations if detected before polling day. It usually cannot
be treated and can have long term effects.
So dear readers all of this is by way of lifting the veil on these
problems which infect our election contests. Politicians are a much maligned
species. In some cases not without cause.
So the next time you look at a poster or get a leaflet through the
letterbox or are confronted at your door by a wild eyed candidate –
occasionally accompanied by a posse of cameras – then take a more
tolerant and benign view of the sometimes strange behaviour of those citizens
who contest elections .
When you are accosted by a pamphlet waving candidate, as you shop in
the supermarket or collect the children at school or are minding your own
business as you walk down the main street, try to see beyond the brash
exterior. If they get carried away with themselves it’s not really their fault
you see. Big boys and big girls make them do it.
Most candidates are decent well meaning civic minded citizens.
It’s a pity some have awful politics. So your votes should not encourage them.
They will have difficulties enough dealing with defeat as well as the
outworking of Candidatitis But they will recover eventually.
If they get elected they or we may never recover. Please spare us from
that.
Pathway to Change
Ireland’s Future has an
event in the SSE Arena in Belfast on Saturday 15 June. Entitled – Pathway to
Change –it has all the makings of a seminal moment in our discussions about the
future. It will be the largest gathering by Ireland’s Future since its
enormously successful ground breaking meeting in the 3 Arena in Dublin in
October 2022.
Pathway to Change will bring together an impressive number of mainstream political and civic figures from across the island of Ireland to discuss their vision of the future of our island. The list of notable speakers includes Alliance leader Naomi Long, SDLP MP Claire Hanna, Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald, former Alliance leader John Alderdice, Social Democrat leader Holly Cairns, Trade Unionist Mick Lynch, Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik, Professor Brendan O’Leary, Claire Mitchel, GAA President Jarlath Burns , Leas Uachtarán Shinn Féin Michelle O’Neill, and veteran unionist and evangelical Protestant Wallace Thompson will join Davy Adams and other panel guests.
Wallace Thompson is a founding member of the DUP and in a recent interview on the BBC’s ‘The View’ said that some fellow unionists share his view that a united Ireland is “inevitable”. He conceded that the previous positions of “no surrender” and “Ulster says No” got unionism nowhere and added: “The Union is damaged by Brexit. I can’t see it being repaired. We’re in danger of rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.”
Whatever our different opinions might be on future constitutional arrangements the reality is that it is imperative that all of us who seek democratic change engage in a positive and respectful dialogue with each other.
This means planning for Irish Unity. It is important that unionists are involved in shaping this. The unionist population and its political representatives need reassured that their cultural identity will be protected in a new and independent Ireland.
It also means that the Irish government must stop running away from this issue and prepare for the unity referendums that are coming and plan for a successful outcome. The Irish government should establish a Citizen’s Assembly to begin this work of planning.
I commend Irelands Future for organising the SSE event. On 15 June I will join the thousands of others to listen and to learn. If you haven’t yet got your ticket yet then book now at the link below:
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