Could Fianna Fail’s debt arbitration bill be the difference in Meath East?

Ah, John beat me to a good analysis of the Meath East by election. I’d go with most of it, except for the inference that party policy is no different between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. It’s a popular line in the media and particularly beloved by political rivals! It does carries a certain truth since no one in mainstream Irish politics has ever been particularly wedded to ideology. The very first government after independence introduced eye wateringly tight fiscal …

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Donegal South West: Emergence of Sinn Fein Nua?

Now whilst Donegal is not Ireland, for Sinn Fein this byelection victory has the potential to become a game-changing moment. They now have one of those two predicted Donegal seats.  In fact, Aidan Kavanagh’s Red C extrapolations underestimated Sinn Fein’s appeal to the Donegal South West electorate and exaggerated the strength of the mainstream parties. Pearse Doherty grabbed 40% of all first preferences, and 60% of all first and second preferences, something that’s previously been unheard of in the politics of the …

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Red C: Doherty to take Donegal South West at a canter

A Red C poll to be published tomorrow will show Sinn Fein’s Pearse Doherty sitting on 40%  of the 1st preference votes in the Donegal South West constituency, some 21% ahead of the second placed Fianna Fail candidate. Perhaps just as interestingly, the Sinn Fein candidate would appear to be strongly positioned to pick up second preference votes, with some 19% of those polled stating they’d transfer directly to him following their first choice candidates. Whilst this is just an …

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