What a shabby way to seek the dissolution of the 29th Dáil. Public notification of one of the most significant constitutional functions was conveyed, not to all Government Ministers, not even on the floor of the Dáil but by text message to the media in the half-light of a Sunday morning.
It was demeaning of the Dáil and the electorate. What's more, the official statement announcing the general election from the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern seemed to have been written in a hurry . Mr Ahern is described as "Taoisech" and it is not the only misspelling.
For all of that, the undeclared campaign which has been under way since the beginning of the year is now official. It will be waged intensively over the next three-and-a-half weeks up to polling day on May 24th. And, possibly for the first time in the history of this State, Mr Ahern made a major concession to his opponents at the Fianna Fáil launch of the campaign yesterday. " No one knows what the outcome of this election will be", he said. "The people have a real choice and two very different alternatives before them. That choice will frame Ireland's future and the consequences of this election will be felt for many years to come".
The most notable feature of the Fianna Fáil launch was that Mr Ahern was off form. There was none of the bravura of the 2002 campaign. He pledged to give the people the campaign they deserved: a campaign of issues and policies, not insults and attacks. But he would not take questions.
All of the other parties seemed to be much quicker off the block. The junior Government partner, the Progressive Democrats, was the first party to publish its full manifesto. There will be a plethora of other manifestoes rolled out in the coming days. Fine Gael, Labour and the other parties had clearly prepared their opening statements.
Since there are clear alternative government combinations on offer, it is profoundly to be hoped that the public will engage in the election process in the coming weeks. At this point, challenges of an economic and social nature have become acute. Transport systems are inadequate, healthcare and hospital services are verging on the dysfunctional. Education is failing to cope with increased demands. Planning is largely developer-driven. Water pollution has become a danger to many communities. Reform is desperately needed within the public service.
Yet, the economy has continued to grow and most people are better off. Inward migration has continued. Ten per cent of workers are now foreign-born. The peace process in the North is about to produce a stable-looking political settlement. A serious attempt is being made to remedy the gross inefficiencies in the health service. The current Government has many achievements.
It is clear on the opening day of the campaign, however, that it will be a presidential-style campaign.