Fianna Fáil loses support to FG and Labour

SUPPORT for Fianna Fáil has fallen by a massive six points, leaving it lagging behind Fine Gael and Labour in popularity, according to the findings of the latest opinion poll.

The poll shows that support for Fianna Fáil has decreased from 38% to 32% since February, to the party’s lowest levels since shortly after the 2002 General Election.

The two main opposition parties are the biggest beneficiaries of the fall.

Fine Gael’s three-point jump to 25% represents the party’s strongest poll showing since Enda Kenny became leader three years ago.

Labour has also shown a two-point increase in support, up from 12% to 14%.

The bounce may stem from the decision by delegates at the party’s national conference to back Pat Rabbitte’s pre-election pact with Fine Gael.

Sinn Féin also seems to have staged a recovery from the strong drop in support it experienced arising from the political fallout of the Northern Bank robbery and January’s Robert McCartney murder in a Belfast bar.

The party’s support has jumped by two points to reach 11%.

The PDs - at 4% - show a marginal rise while the Green Party (which has ruled out any pre-election alliance with the other parties) remains unchanged, also at 4%.

Independents account for 9% of support.

The tns/MRBI poll for The Irish Times indicates that a rainbow coalition involving the Greens would command 43% support compared with 36% for FF and the PDs.

If the findings of this poll were to be repeated in the election, Fine Gael and Labour would still enjoy a three-point lead over the current Government.

The poll, taken last Tuesday and Wednesday, was conducted in a period in which the Government faced fierce criticism on nursing home standards and charges; on the findings of the Morris Tribunal; as well as on its failure to appoint a new head to the Health Service Executive.

With still almost two years to go to the next general election, the results cannot be taken as a strong indicator of a definite shift in the political balance.

However, the respective strong showings of Fine Gael and Labour will be read by party strategists as a vindication of their electoral pact.