20 September 2008

Fianna Fáil in Trouble over the Economy

A new opinion poll shows a significant drop in support for Ireland's main government party Fianna Fáil.

The Red C poll in tomorrow's Sunday Business Post also finds that half of all voters do not trust the Irish government to manage the public finances out of the current downturn.

The poll, which was conducted on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, shows Fianna Fáil at 36%, down four points since the last poll in June.

Concern about the economy is the most likely reason for the drop in support for the Taoiseach's party.
When asked if they were confident the government could manage the public finances out of the current downturn, just 39% of those polled said they were confident, while 50% were not and 11% did not know.

Fine Gael gained three points and has now 28%, which brings them back to their April result, while the Labour Party is down one point to 9%. The Green Party stands unchanged at 7% and Sinn Féin drops one point to 9%.

Surprisingly the Progressive Democrats have seen a slight rise in support. While the poll was being conducted this week, PD leader Ciaran Cannon said that his party was "no longer politically viable", but support in the poll has gone up by one point to 3%. Nevertheless that still places the PDs in the political doldrums and their leader is quite right with his assessment.

The Emerald Islander

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