Fine Gael advisers concerned over poll slump one week before election

Fine Gael strategists have held a series of crisis calls with local election directors in response to the party’s slumping poll ratings and fears its message of recovery is not getting across to the public.

The phonecalls took place on Thursday evening after the party saw its support fall from 31% at the start of the campaign to 26% in mid-week, a situation that means the coalition is at risk of losing office.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, a number of Fine Gael’s top strategists admitted that after the phonecalls the party now accepts its “keeping the recovery” slogan is not working and will be sidelined in the last week of the election in favour of clearer warnings of what might happen if the economic comeback ends.