(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Ireland’s Labour Party (Lab.) has seen its popularity rise and is now second only to Fine Gael (FG), according to a poll by Red C. 27 per cent of respondents would vote for Labour in the next legislative election, up five points since May.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Ireland’s Labour Party (Lab.) has seen its popularity rise and is now second only to Fine Gael (FG), according to a poll by Red C. 27 per cent of respondents would vote for Labour in the next legislative election, up five points since May.
FG is in first place with 33 per cent. Fianna Fáil (FF) is third with 24 per cent, followed by Sinn Fein (SF) with eight per cent, and the Green Party (GP) with two per cent.
In May 2007, Irish voters renewed the House of Representatives. FF finished in first place with 41.6 per cent of the vote and 78 lawmakers, followed by FG with 27.3 per cent and 51 legislators, and Labour with 10.1 per cent and 20 representatives. In June, Bertie Ahern was ratified as prime minister, with the support of FF, six Green lawmakers, two members of the Progressive Democrats and four independents.
In the 1990s, a public inquiry was established to investigate corruption allegations related to the issuing of planning and zoning permits in Ireland. Ahern faced an investigation by the so-called Mahon Tribunal. Ahern’s involvement in the corruption scandal practically paralyzed the legislature in early 2008.
In May 2008, Ahern stepped down and FF lawmakers chose finance minister Brian Cowen to replace him as leader and prime minister. Several fellow party members had called for Ahern—who had served as head of government since June 1997—to resign in order to protect the party from the damages caused by the investigation.
The Irish government has faced criticism for its handling of the economy in recent months. On Jun. 9, two reports—one by former International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials Klaus Regling and Max Watson and another by Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan—questioned Cowen’s decisions as finance minister.
Last month, Cowen and his administration survived a no-confidence motion tabled by FG leader Enda Kenny, who accused him of "catastrophic failures of policy." Following the vote, Cowen said that, just like him, opposition leaders also failed to foresee the 2008 collapse in the Irish real estate market and the ensuing economic crisis, declaring, "Accepting due responsibility, as I do, does not oblige me to accept the rewriting of history and the barefaced denials about their record on the part of the opposition."
Polling Data
If there were a general election tomorrow, to which party would you give your first preference vote?
|
|
Jun. 2010
|
May 2010
|
Apr. 2010
|
|
Fine Gael (FG)
|
33%
|
30%
|
33%
|
|
Labour Party (Lab.)
|
27%
|
22%
|
24%
|
|
Fianna Fáil (FF)
|
24%
|
24%
|
23%
|
|
Sinn Fein (SF)
|
8%
|
10%
|
6%
|
|
Green Party (GP)
|
2%
|
5%
|
6%
|
Source: Red C
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,003 Irish adults, conducted from Jun. 21 to Jun. 23, 2010. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
