Lisbon Treaty support increases

OPPONENTS to the Lisbon Treaty have softened their position in the last three months amidst the ongoing economic turmoil.

A new poll has revealed 29% of people want to see the treaty rejected in a second ballot. This is a drop of 4%, with three of those points accounted for by people moving to the “do not know” camp.

Support for a yes vote has increased by 1% to 52% since the last comparable survey was taken in February.

The results show just under one in five people could be swayed by either campaign.

It comes as the Government continues to negotiate the wording of guarantees the European Union is willing to offer Ireland in advance of a second vote.

The figures reveal the electorate is increasingly willing to separate the Lisbon issue from other political battles.

Last week the same 2,000 respondents who made up the Lisbon survey were asked their views on the main political parties and voting preferences ahead of the European election.

In these Fianna Fáil lost support and trailed Fine Gael by 17 points. However, in the Ireland North West constituency Libertas leader Declan Ganley saw his support rise to 9%.

This remains half of what he would need to achieve to stand a chance in the three-seat constituency. However, it is a lot higher than his marginal showing in early surveys.

When the undecided voters are removed from The Irish Times MRBI poll 64.5% support the treaty, with 35.5% against.