Irish Examiner view: Fine Gael faces battle to woo younger voters

Party's biggest challenge is to broaden its appeal

Leo Varadkar: His party faces threat from Sinn Féin. Picture: Damien Storan/PA

As Fine Gael emerged from its annual ard fheis jamboree in Athlone last weekend, the party is facing up to several fundamental dilemmas, not least of which is the aging profile of its membership demographic.

As it faces into a critical two-year period where it will lead the current coalition for the remainder of its term in office and will oversee critical developments on issues such as housing, jobs, the economy, inflation, and law and order, there is much on the party agenda.

In the real world, we all know that the biggest issue facing Fine Gael — and the other coalition parties — is the threat they face from Sinn Féin. Within Fine Gael itself a realisation has dawned that one of the biggest assets Sinn Féin has is its appeal to young voters.

For the party, however, the fact that its supporters are growing older and so too its core membership, is a real concern in the face of the existential Sinn Féin threat at the ballot boxes. The knowledge it has to broaden its appeal to the electorate is accepted as being one of the party’s biggest challenges.

Despite the relative youth of its leadership, Fine Gael’s attractiveness to younger voters is questionable and that will make the next two years particularly challenging for the it as it strives to quell the seemingly unstoppable rise of Sinn Féin.