Opinion poll sees support for Fianna Fáil hit all-time low
Taoiseach Micheál Martin is facing pressure from inside his own party after a new poll put support for Fianna Fáil at just 10%.
The Taoiseach is under mounting pressure from within his own party after support for Fianna Fáil slumped to an all-time low.
Increasing numbers of Fianna Fáil TDs now believe Micheál Martin must be replaced if the party is to survive.
However, Mr Martin dismissed the latest opinion poll which puts his party at just 10% support, saying that "no Government can run on opinion polls from month to month, and it shouldn't".
Fine Gael remains the most popular party in the country on 35%, up from the 21% it received in this year's general election.
Support for Sinn Féin has remained more or less static on 27%.
However, the Red C poll published in the shows a massive fall-off in support for Mr Martin's party. Fianna Fáil has dropped from 22% in the general election to just 10% now.
Responding to the poll results, Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív said his prediction of there being two large parties, but Fianna Fáil not being one of them, "is coming to pass".
Red Sea Poll. Looks like my prediction of there being two large parties but FF not being one of them, is coming to pass. The threat is existential. FF won’t survive if we persist with the myth that the decline is simply due to external factors and not the party’s direction
— Éamon Ó Cuív (@eamonocuiv) September 13, 2020
"The threat is existential. Fianna Fáil won’t survive if we persist with the myth that the decline is simply due to external factors and not the party’s direction," he tweeted.
Fianna Fáil senator Eugene Murphy said the party "obviously has a big problem getting the message across" to the general public, but added that he supports Mr Martin as leader.
Another senior party member said the poor poll results were not surprising, and blamed Mr Martin's leadership for the massive slide in support.
"There is nobody in the parliamentary party who, if they woke up in the morning and we had a new leader, wouldn't be celebrating," he said.
"That said, there is nobody prepared to upset the apple cart."
The Fianna Fáil source said Mr Martin does not involve his own TDs and ministers in decisionmaking, adding that the party now appears stale in comparison to both Sinn Féin and Fine Gael.
However, another senior member pointed to the fact that Fianna Fáil has lost two ministers since entering Government and said "backbiting" within the party also has not helped.
Mr Martin was yesterday forced to address criticisms from within his own ranks after it was reported that he was lambasted at a meeting of the parliamentary party last week.
At a teleconference meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, Mr Martin was challenged directly by several of his party members, including some of his own ministers, who voiced concern about the party’s current low standing.
Mr Martin said: "First of all, there wasn't scathing criticism — there was one person at the end of the meeting in terms of one contribution to me.
"My focus is on substance and getting things done.
Speaking on RTÉ's , Mr Martin said: "Maybe if I have one fault, I do focus on policy a lot. I do focus on the substance of Government decisions and getting things done for the future of the country.
"I'm not into short-termism or opinion polls, no Government can run on opinion polls from month to month, and it shouldn't."
