FG throws down gauntlet to Coalition

FINE Gael yesterday forcefully threw down the gauntlet for next year’s General Election with a confident prediction that it will come within five seats of Fianna Fáil.

The party’s director of elections Frank Flannery predicted that Fine Gael may gain up to 28 seats and win between 56 and 60 seats. By contrast, he claimed that Fianna Fáil will have a calamitous election, losing between 15 to 20 seats.

Moreover, Labour will win anything between 24 and 26 seats, according to Fine Gael, thus bringing the Mullingar Accord between the two parties very close to the 83 seats required to win an overall majority, without relying on the support of the Green Party or independents.