Slaying the Dragons
There aren’t many European presidents who’d quote Marxist economists or praise Fidel Castro. But Ireland’s Michael D. Higgins is widely backed across the political spectrum.
Irish President Michael D. Higgins honoring the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising in the Republic of Ireland when in 1916 a rebellion was attempted to oust British rule of the country. Maxwells / Irish Government – Pool / Getty Images
On October 26 Ireland goes to the polls to elect its president. Even in a crowded field of six candidates, it looks almost certain that President Michael D. Higgins, a socialist who spent most of his life on the left-wing fringes of Irish politics, is going to win a second seven-year term.
Higgins is renowned for his activist record and his sharp critiques of neoliberalism. Even as president he has cited thinkers like Ernst Bloch and David Harvey. But if in Friday’s election the socialist Higgins will surely defeat the ragbag of reality-TV entrepreneurs standing against him, this will have little effect on the broader political climate.
Higgins is something of an anomaly. His likely reelection comes despite the collapse in support for the Irish Labour Party, of which he was a member for over forty years, and the otherwise poor electoral performance of the Irish left. If Higgins himself can be compared to Jeremy Corbyn or Bernie Sanders, his popularity has not brought electoral success for wider progressive politics.
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