Fianna Fáil wants more seats but not expecting overall win

It’s not sexy, goes against all official messages, and will do nothing to lessen the perceived arrogance of the Fine Gael-Labour Coalition, but a Fianna Fáil general election “win” is not dependent on regaining power at the first time of asking.

Instead, simply rebuilding and creating a solid platform for its next campaign will be considered a success for most members. And the say that if Dáil seats hit the 30-40 mark, this will secure another term for party leader Micheál Martin.

“Entering an election, you have to believe you can enter a government, but on a realistic level it won’t happen,” said Dublin South delegate Stephen Dickson, one of more than a dozen ard fheis delegates asked about post-vote options by the Irish Examiner.