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| David Norris |
By Carmel Crimmins
A gay senator has taken the heat off former Irish Republican
Army (IRA) commander Martin McGuinness in the race for Ireland's presidency as
controversies over his past dominate the campaign.
David Norris, a charismatic
literary scholar, sought on Wednesday to end discord over his appeals for
clemency for a former partner convicted of statutory rape and the disclosure he
claimed disability benefit while working as a senator.
The controversies have taken
the focus off McGuinness whose membership of one of the world's most deadly
guerrilla groups has triggered stinging attacks from government ministers who
fear his past could damage the figurehead role and whose own presidential
candidate is languishing in the polls.
"I very much hope that we
will be able to put this very sad episode behind and move on," Norris told
a news conference to launch his campaign.
Norris' unwillingness to
publish letters he wrote seeking clemency for his Israeli former partner, Ezra
Nawi, over a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old Palestinian boy, has
created a media storm and a dramatic fall in his ratings.
A poll to be published in
Thursday's Irish Times newspaper showed he had lost his position as frontrunner
and was now ranked fifth having dropped 14 percentage points to 11 percent from
a survey in July.
McGuinness, who did not
feature in the July survey because he only entered the race last month, was in
third position on 19 percent. Former culture minister Michael D. Higgins, the
candidate of the Labour party, the junior coalition partner, is now the
favorite with 23 percent.
The ruling Fine Gael party's
candidate was second to last with 9 percent and business man Sean Gallagher
jumped seven points to be the second-favorite candidate with 20 percent.
A BIT OF CONTROVERSY
Norris' admission in July that
he had asked a judge to be lenient toward Nawi came after comments he made in
2002 defending the Ancient Greek attitude to pederasty or sex between men and
boys were published again. The subsequent controversy forced him to quit the
race.
Norris released one letter he
wrote on behalf of Nawi in August, written from his office in the Senate, but
in a statement he read out on Wednesday he said lawyers in Ireland and Israel and advised him against
releasing any more.
"I will not be making
any further comment," he repeated over and over as reporters peppered him
with questions.
Norris re-entered the race
for the presidency last month amid widespread popular support. The
67-year-old's effervescent personality and strong human rights record, he
spearheaded the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in Ireland, have
endeared him to many.
If elected, Norris would be
the largely Catholic country's first gay president.
"I think he's brilliant.
He's the only one I am voting for. He's funny, he's approachable. The media are
picking on him," said Brenda, a 49-year-old civil servant, having a
cigarette break in Dublin's city center.
McGuinness' insistence that
he left the IRA in 1974 has prompted disbelief and a wave of criticism.
A senior government minister
was quoted over the weekend as saying multinational companies would be
"appalled" if McGuinness was elected president and Ireland's
competitors for foreign investment would "not be slow to whisper about a
terrorist" holding the office of president.
But the focus has switched
back to Norris.
He confirmed a newspaper
report on Wednesday that he received disability benefit from a Dublin
university after he contracted hepatitis from contaminated water in 1994.
Norris said he was unable to
continue lecturing due to his illness. He did, however, serve as a senator
during that time.
Dubliners laughed off the
disclosure.
"You need a bit of
controversy. My vote is still for Norris," Mark Woods, a 37-year-old
security guard, said.
(Editing by Louise Ireland)
Source : Reuters
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