Since becoming taoiseach in April, Simon Harris put the Duracell Bunny to shame, travelling up and down the country at lightning speed, smiling, nodding and shaking hands with every potential voter who crossed his path.
The Harris Hop saw Fine Gael rise in the polls and it seemed as if the new leader could do no wrong. He put a fresh spin on a party that’s been in power for 14 years. Not easily done.
A presidential-style campaign like that can work. With so many Fine Gael TDs not standing for re-election, it made sense to give the electorate a personality to focus on.
However, this also places enormous pressure on the shoulders of one man. One wrong move and, to use the well-worn metaphor, the ming vase could shatter.
The first chip appeared when video emerged of Senator John McGahon in a physical altercation with a man outside a pub. Found criminally not guilty but civilly liable, the “vicious” nature of the footage called Fine Gael’s support for the candidate into question.
A much bigger crack opened when Simon Harris had an awkward encounter with a disability worker who took the opportunity to tell him about the struggles she and others experience.
A clearly emotional Charlotte Fallon told of her dismay that the sector had, in her words, been forgotten.
He only had to listen. Do what he has likely done countless times on this campaign and share a sympathetic word. Instead, he corrected her, dismissed her and then walked away.
The man who cites increasing supports to the disability sector as his key motivation for getting in to politics appeared not to care.
Spending the final week of the campaign justifying one decision and apologising for another is a far cry from how he had hoped to use his time.
Meanwhile, Micheál Martin has been having a very different campaign.
A veteran of electioneering, he looks comfortable, even with tough questions.
The housing crisis has been a key election issue and even though Fianna Fáil has held the portfolio for years, the party has managed to distance itself somewhat from the worst of the criticism.
Somewhat unexpectedly finding itself a frontrunner in the polls, the worst accusation Fianna Fáil has faced so far is that it’s engaged in a sham fight with Fine Gael, challenging it enough to maintain its own voter base, but happy to return together to power if results allow.
Whether it’s experience coming to the fore, or the more subdued campaign that the party has run, Fianna Fáil seems to be edging forward gradually and quietly.
Harris and Martin have, however, been in lockstep in one aspect of the campaign.
When it comes to criticising Sinn Féin, the rotating taoisigh have been consistently singing off the same hymn sheet.
The optics have become two-on-one: Micheál Martin and Simon Harris against Mary Lou McDonald, and that suits Sinn Féin just fine.
As much as the election timing seemed problematic for Sinn Féin with the difficulties of last month, Mary Lou has been doing what Mary Lou does best – campaigning.
A rough couple of weeks have become a memory. Sinn Féin’s place in the polls is roughly what it was before any of those uncomfortable stories came out, and the party has managed to pull the focus back to its policies and plea to the electorate to vote for change.
The party showed in 2020 that writing it off before an election is a foolish thing to do. That said, a slight recovery in the polls doesn’t necessarily translate into Dáil seats, and Dáil seats can be difficult to transfer into a workable coalition government.
With both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil pledging that they won’t work with Sinn Féin, the road to government will still be difficult on a good day.
By the weekend the picture will emerge of who the next power-holders will be. Until then, it’s all to play for.
:: Ursula Savage is presenter of the podcast Personal Politics.