Drapier: It's strange how the months of February and March seem like a type of limbo-land in election terms. The real campaign has yet to start and there is as yet an air of unreality about full campaigning, though much of it is going on under the surface.
The Sinn Féin Ardfheis last weekend and the Fianna Fáil Ardfheis this weekend should give the necessary kick-start, especially when particular attention will be paid at the Fianna Fáil Ardfheis to new candidates both for the European and local elections.
The North West (Connacht-Ulster) constituency convention held last Saturday in Roscommon was most interesting on a number of fronts. On the surface it appeared as if the majority of the 1,000 delegates mustered there in Roscommon had decided to give a kick in the teeth to Fianna Fáil headquarters and to the party hierarchy.
However, that was not the full picture. Once Dr Jim McDaid was returned unanimously as the northern candidate and the vote taken from the full delegates as to who should vote for the southern candidate, well then it was all over. Northern delegates decided that Seán Ó Neachtáin was their chosen candidate, ensuring that Jim McDaid would be King of the Castle, so to speak.
Frank Fahey's heart was never really in it anyway and he was more or less dragooned into putting himself forward. But no one likes to be rejected and it was a thumping majority which saw Ó Neachtáin returned as the second candidate.
It was a strange strategy and a strange convention but Ó Neachtáin might yet prove them all wrong. He may seem a dull and plodding candidate, but he has the Connemara characteristics of being dogged and persistent - useful traits in an election campaign.
So what's to be made of e-voting? The commission has been set up and is genuinely composed of the good and the true, so a thoroughly detached independent report can be expected by May 1st.
Drapier senses a slight Government withdrawal from the whole messy business. On this issue, the Opposition certainly made the running and both in the Seanad, where it was first aired, and later in the Dáil, they forced the Government to a series of climb-downs.
Firstly, the independent commission, then legislation and then what? It is quite ridiculous though to hear the Opposition posturing that somehow Fianna Fáil and the PDs had an ulterior motive in pushing e-voting, as if they were about to inflict a huge evil electoral conspiracy on the voters come June 11th.
But the Opposition parties were right to call a judicious halt to the speedy gallop of its installation countrywide. Bets are on in Leinster House whether it will happen on June 11th or not.
There is an interesting sideline to this e-voting business. Keen political observers will have noted that there are hints that Martin Cullen doesn't like at all the unwanted present of nationwide e-voting left on his desk by his predecessor, Noel Dempsey.
It is odd how the incumbent Minister always takes full credit for trouble-free decisions by his/her predecessors but comes all over shy if previous decisions turn out to be troublesome. Yet Cullen embraced e-voting with sturdy gusto, but has become cautious of late.
The same Minister has struck a genuine chord with his Guidelines for Local Authorities for one-off housing. It is a huge issue in all of the counties and it extends across all party divides.
There is strong resentment against county planners and county managers, who have become the new czars and czarinas of determining where one should live.
Of course these guidelines will run into flak from An Taisce and various other do-gooders and it is extraordinarily difficult to find a balance in such matters
It was Bertie Ahern who recognised this need when he attended a Fianna Fáil get-together in Sligo a year and a half ago and felt the full wrath of members on the issue. It has taken this long to get the matter to this point, but in the end, the guidelines will help to demystify the planning process in a proper way and should lead to applicants having their needs met.
The East (Leinster) Euro scene is hotting up nicely.
For once, women seem to be on the march and there's no harm in that. Fine Gael has seized the initiative with two high-powered female candidates, the existing MEP, Avril Doyle, and the likelihood of Mairéad McGuinness going forward to contest the convention.
Equally vibrant is the Carlow-based county councillor, Mary White, who is running for the Green Party. Fianna Fáil has chosen party chairman Seamus Kirk and Junior Minister Liam Aylward.
Labour has picked Peter Cassells and Drapier has heard of an interesting vignette about the highly respected ex-ICTU boss, who was recently observed in Greene's bookshop buying a map of Leinster.
Go n-éirí an bóthar leat, Peter - by June 11th, you will surely know all the highways and byways of leafy Leinster.
The Fianna Fáil senator, Mary M. White, made a startling breakthrough recently by heading the poll in the Oireachtas vote for the National Executive. Well done Mary and to hell with the begrudgers!
Minister of the Month? How about Mary Coughlan, Minister for Social and Family Affairs? Mary has traversed some difficult terrain lately, but has proved that a knowledge of your subject, combined with a decent open manner and a willingness to go on the media, can get you over nearly impossible hurdles.
In particular, she has managed to announce the challenging conditions attaching to incomers from the accession states from May 1st and she has done it with panache allied to a strong dose of common sense.
The Seanad shone this week by inviting and hosting John Hume as a distinguished guest to its distinctive chamber. Passion, history, warmth, and welcome resonated. A truly marvellous occasion.