COMMENT: Has Bunty done our democracy a big favour?

WE MAY well have witnessed the defining moment of the presidential election campaign at Dublin City Hall earlier this month with the outrageous pitch to councillors by Bunty Twuntingdon-McFuff (not her real name).

So far, the presidential race has been a rather lacklustre affair and if early poll findings hold firm, candidates will need nothing short of a miracle to stop Michael D’s unassailable gallop towards a second term in the park.

With the exception of Sinn Féin, the political parties have shied away from fielding an official candidate, seemingly rolling over and accepting the re-election of President Higgins as a done deal. Giving anyone a clear 14-year run in office is not healthy in a democracy so it has been left to a group of individuals to go down the local authority route in the hope of securing a nomination.

Some would argue that the council nomination system has served us well, opening up the presidency to those unable to secure the backing of 20 TDs or senators. But it’s a system that’s far from perfect. Last week, there was another car crash performance by a wannabe candidate as a meeting of South Dublin County Council descended into chaos.

A week earlier, filmmaker and actor Norma Burke had addressed Dublin city councillors as her alter-ego character, Bunty Twuntingdon-McFuff – a self-serving, offensive PR guru who proposed turning the Áras into a hunting lodge and spa. Bunty’s dystopian vision for the presidency raised the ire of Independent councillor Mannix Flynn who was furious over the stunt. In the end, councillors decided that no contenders would be selected.

Norma gave as good as she got when the controversy got another airing the next morning on Sean O’Rourke’s RTÉ radio show. Cllr Flynn clearly hadn’t calmed down since the council meeting and accused her of being a major self-promoter. 

This comment only proved the central point she was trying to make: that anyone could simply write to a local authority and secure permission to address councillors.

Bunty’s comments were so out there that it was abundantly clear this was a satirical performance. But it raises the question: what checks and balances are in place to stop someone with genuinely dangerous views from being afforded such a public platform? Clearly, the nominations process needs to be tweaked to ensure some sort of order in our council chambers to avoid them turning into a circus. 

It could be argued that Bunty has done democracy a favour by highlighting the flaws in the local authority selection process. While far from subtle, it was a point well made.