Fine Gael squandered chance to be a new natural party of government

Opinion polls leading to cut-and-run elections are the road to ruin. That a tranche of parliamentary opinion in Fine Gael is hot to trot means it is time to open the window and let in cold air.

There are reasons in theory why an election might be considered. In practice all of them are trumped by reasons not to. The basis of truncating a government that is functioning reasonably well, whether you agree with it or not, won’t last beyond the opening salvo of any campaign.