Safe to say, when you’re clarifying your position on Hamas, you are probably not having a good day as a presidential election candidate.
Now, if you were a member of Kneecap, it would be different. But Catherine Connolly is not rapping for the group; she is running for president.
Tuesday mornings in Leinster House are when representatives of Opposition parties speak to the media on the plinth about their plans for the week and their latest criticisms of the Government.
The latest round of questioning was overwhelmingly about Connolly’s attitude to Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group which controlled Gaza and whose attacks on Israel two years ago triggered the brutal and ongoing destruction of the enclave by Israel.
Connolly gave an interview to BBC Northern Ireland’s Talkback programme on Monday in which she said Hamas was “part of the fabric of Palestinian life”. She criticised British prime minister Keir Starmer’s assertion that Hamas could not be part of the government of a future Palestinian state. It was, she said, up to the Palestinians to pick who governs them.
But it’s not just Starmer who says that Hamas must go. It’s the EU, much of the international community and the Arab League, including some of the key figures in efforts to broker a solution to the ongoing conflict, such as Egypt and Qatar.
In a difficult interview with RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Tuesday, Connolly stood by her remarks. While condemning Hamas absolutely, she answered nearly every question about the organisation by talking about Israel.
And whatever RTÉ’s faults may be, the broadcaster can hardly be accused of ignoring the conflict in Gaza.
One by one, Opposition parties traipsed out to the plinth to answer questions about their presidential candidate’s attitude to Hamas. Some of them squirmed, clearly uncomfortable and perhaps beginning to wonder, “Just what have we got ourselves into here?” Others doubled down, insisting they agreed with every word Connolly said.
Sometimes, attack is the best form of defence. Paul Murphy of People Before Profit-Solidarity accused the mainstream media of a “smear campaign” against Connolly because they are – unwittingly or otherwise – aligned with the interests of the “establishment”. It wasn’t the first time many of those present had heard the critique, delivered with customary vehemence.
Murphy’s bravura performance masks a discernible unease among some of Connolly’s supporters. Sources within the parties backing her ranged in their private responses from deeply unhappy to mildly concerned.
Most – though not all – were content that the controversy would pass without lasting damage to the Connolly campaign, and simply want her to move on. Others grumbled, but quietly. Nobody wanted to dump on the candidate; not yet, anyway. Some of them answered texted queries with a range of emojis, none of which expressed delight. Whatever about their true feelings, you can be sure of one thing: none of them wants to be answering questions about Hamas.
But there is a broader point that the Connolly campaign will have to address. To win, she will have to extend her appeal beyond the left and into the centre: that’s where the swing votes are. And while advocacy for Palestine is hardly a position confined to the left in Irish politics, it’s doubtful there is a great appetite among centrist voters for equivocation about Hamas.
The same point applies to many of the positions that Connolly has held. Just like the current occupant of the office to which she aspires, she is authentically and obviously a person of the left. But to build the coalition that could carry her to victory, she will need to emulate Michael D Higgins, and broaden her appeal.