This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Irish PM’s party suffers dip in popularity after water charge protests
Sorry - this page has been removed.
(4 months later)
The popularity of Irish prime minister Enda Kenny’s party has slumped since it announced the first non-austerity budget in seven years last month and mass protests against new water charges began, an opinion poll showed on Saturday.
This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason.
Only 22% of voters said they would vote for Kenny’s centre-right Fine Gael party, down 6 percentage points since the 14 October budget and 14 points since its election in 2011, the Red C/Sunday Business Post opinion poll said.
It was the lowest rating the party has ever had in a Red C poll.
For further information, please contact:
Fine Gael has been rocked by mass protests against new water charges and a series of scandals about poor management at the company set up to administer them. Water services had been paid for from general taxation.
The biggest beneficiaries of the protests have been left-wing Sinn Fein party which is the joint most popular party with 22% and Independents/Others on 27%.
Sinn Fein’s popularity was unchanged compared to the last Red C poll in an apparent sign recent accusations in parliament that members of the party had failed to properly report sex abuse had not had a significant impact.
The three parties that have formed the backbone of all Irish government’s since the 1930s, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour, now have less than 50% of the vote between them, the poll said, highlighting the possibility of a major realignment of Irish politics at elections due in early 2016.
Kenny’s coalition government with Labour has overseen a dramatic recovery in the Irish economy from a disastrous real estate crash and banking crisis that forced an international bailout in 2010.
Ireland last year became the first eurozone country to exit an international bailout and the economy is forecast to grow almost 5% this year, which would likely make it the best performing in the eurozone.
But many people who took part in two mass protests in recent weeks said they were not feeling the recovery and accused the government of unfairly targeting the poor with cutbacks.
