| Pressure is on Bertie before the
election has even begun THE FORTHCOMING General Election in
Ireland is shaping up to be one of the most interesting for years.
While the odds still favour a Fianna Fail return to power recent opinion
polls do not make comfortable reading for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
The latest flurry over the weekend revealed that Fine Gael leader Enda
Kenny is gaining ground in the personal popularity stakes.
What’s more they also show voters have serious reservations about
the Taoiseach and his party.
Around half say they still have questions about personal loans made to
Mr Ahern in the past, two-thirds believe the health service has deteriorated
in the last five years and a significant number are dissatisfied with
the government’s handling of the economy.
The last of these is probably most worrying for Fianna Fail. For if after
a decade of unprecedented economic growth people are growing concerned
about the economy then it points to a deep lying unease about the present
government.
Of course whether that uneasiness will be reflected at the polls is another
matter.
It is one thing for the electorate to have questions about the present
government but to capitalise on that Fine Gael has to prove it is a creditable
alternative.
And while Enda Kenny’s ratings are rising he still falls behind
Mr Ahern when people are asked who would make the better Taoiseach.
After all, Bertie has proved his worth Mr Kenny is trying to convince
people he should be allowed to try to prove he could do better.
Taken as a snapshot the latest polls undoubtedly back the widespread belief
among political commentators that we are heading for a hung Dáil.
Fine Gael and Labour together stand a chance of winning more votes than
Fianna Fail but would probably need the support of the Greens to form
a government.
More likely would be a Fianna Fail return to office in alliance with Labour.
Of course the date of polling day has not even been announced yet and
there are still many twists and turns to come.
But what the polls do tell us is that this will be the most closely-contested
battle for years.
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