The Gist: Jim Bows Out

Of all Jim Gavin’s gaffes, it turns out it was his spare one that took him down.

He had spent a miserable day being asked about pocketing a tenant‘s money and not giving it back for 16 years, while knowing this whole thing was likely for nothing after that morning’s poll.

He had given an interview to Virgin Media’s Richard Chambers earlier that day, where he had referred to “boots on the ground”, and said “we’re not even halftime yesterday on this journey and half times are just breaks in play and there’s a lot of long way to go.“ and that he’d “a brilliant team around me and I’m so much up for this” and “I’m passionate about being President... I’ve got full energy to get through the campaign.”

Later that day he quit, presumably having depleted Ireland’s entire resources of cliche.

The Long Game

Imagine you are a tenant, in the worst financial crash in living memory, and you discover that over three thousand of your very precious and irreplaceable euros have been sent by your idiot bank to your previous landlord.

And then he won’t give them back. Not then, but also, not later either.

He just keeps the money, because that is how Irish private landlords behave. You pay a deposit to a landlord and then they try anything on to refuse to give it back.

Now imagine you spend the next 16 years seething every time that landlord appears on the TV, being fêted for his sporting triumphs, receiving state appointments and still never giving you your money.

And now, and I invite you to imagine this in full 8k Hi-Def Surround Sound, imagine seeing that guy announce he was running to be President and realising you were going to tell your story and End It.

For anyone who has ever had to deal with a landlord who took their cash this is the stuff of legend. You would let the monkey paw get you for it. “Who needs a soul?“, Faust would have said as he traded for this outcome.

FF’s Zombie Campaign

Jim’s premature withdrawal might have met with the approval of the country’s small faction of Steen supporters but it leaves Micheál Martin in almost the worst of all worlds.

Because, you see, Jim managed to not pull out early enough and FF now find themselves required to carry his presence on the ballot to full term.

Section 30(1) of the Presidential Elections Act, 1993 says that a candidate may only withdraw up to the closure of nominations “But not thereafter”.

Meaning that Gavin’s name will remain on the ballot paper.

His withdrawal will just mean that he won’t do anything to try to persuade people to back him.

Which, to be fair, describes how his campaign worked from the start.