Friday, March 11, 2011

An inappropriate intervention?

The Republic's Seanad campaign is, from a N.Irish point of view anyroads, more interesting than usual this year.

First up, we've got the Unionist, Jeff Dudgeon, attempting to grab one of Trinity's four seats; next we have the Chief Commissioner of a UK tax-payer funded,  non-departmental public body throwing her weight behind one of the candidates for the National University of Ireland's seats.

Yes, one of this blog's regular heroines, Professor Monica McWilliams, "Chief Commissioner of Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and founder of Women's Coalition (NI)", has decided to back Donncha O'Connell's campaign.

Mr O'Connell is one of the "explicit recognition of socio-economic rights with a strengthened constitutional right to equality" brigade, so it's perfectly understandable why Prof. McWilliams feels such an affinity with him, but I do wonder that while she is still the head of a (theoretically) apolitical body such a public declaration of support is appropriate?

3 comments:

Owen Polley said...

She just doesn't care does she? She crossed the boundary long ago, no-one said boo and she's sure as hell not going to mend her ways at this stage.

O'Neill said...

A couple of months before she heads off into the sunset? No she isn't.

I haven't checked thoroughly enough yet her job description but I would have expected/hoped at the very least a public political neutrality would have been one of the requirements.

dr said...

any chance she could be sacked without the generous pension I'm sure she has lined up!