"The left-wing populist's surprisingly frank answers carry the message: 'You don't have to like me, but I'm not hiding who I am' On Thursday on RTÉ Radio 1, Claire Byrne started her interview with Catherine Connolly with the kind of question that could be a death knell for an ordinary presidential campaign: "Is it true that you attempted to hire someone who was convicted by the Special Criminal Court of gun crimes and that you wanted that person to fulfil a role in the Oireachtas?""
"Connolly is already scaring centrist Ireland with a slate of beliefs about pacifism and American imperialism that suggest a worldview closer to the harder than the softer left. Suddenly, thanks to a story broken by The Journal.ie, she was being asked questions normally only asked of the Shinners. You could just imagine the schadenfreude in her rivals' camps."
A left-wing populist responded candidly to tough questions, signalling openness and an unapologetic political stance. A radio interviewer asked whether an attempt had been made to hire someone convicted by the Special Criminal Court of gun crimes for an Oireachtas role. The politician's beliefs on pacifism and American imperialism align with a harder-left worldview that alarms centrist figures. A media story prompted scrutiny normally aimed at Sinn Féin, and political rivals experienced schadenfreude. The overall posture communicated that personal unpopularity is acceptable so long as identity and positions are openly stated.
Read at Independent
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