Battlegrounds

Local Battlegrounds

• High hopes on Kenny's home turf4 Jun 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: MAYO: WHEN AN apparition was reported recently on the gable wall of a vacant Ballina house, the word in Mayo was that local election fever had definitely taken a turn for the worse . . . as in, no general appetite for politicians at all.
• Main parties keep firm grip on seats4 Jun 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: WESTMEATH: ONE THING is certain about Westmeath. “There’s not a scent of an Independent,” as one observer puts it. This county council is a firmly party-affiliated authority – be it Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael or Labour.
• Fine Gael may profit from PD demise4 Jun 2009COUNTY COUNCIL PROFILE: SOUTH DUBLIN: LABOUR HOLDS the reins of power and the mayoralty. However, unlike its neighbours in the City and Fingal, South Dublin has a fairly even split of parties across each of its five wards, with no party holding more than two seats in any ward.
• Transfers to decide who will take Gregory's seat as Ahern factor diminishes3 Jun 2009CONSTITUENCY PROFILE : DUBLIN CENTRAL The by-election to fill Tony Gregory’s seat is as open as can be, writes HARRY McGEE 
• Opposition fears to believe in demise of Fianna Fáil2 Jun 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: MEATH: MAYBE IT’S the old mantra that the only poll that counts is the one on election day. Or perhaps the wariness is because it’s Meath, a Fianna Fáil stronghold, although a much less fortified one these days.
• Red flags abound as FF raise some white ones1 Jun 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: FINGAL: THE RED flag flies over Fingal. Well maybe not quite, but Labour is its largest party and it is the county with the highest number of Socialist Party councillors.
• Boundary changes and internal rivalries mean heads will roll1 Jun 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: DÚN LAOGHAIRE-RATHDOWN: BOUNDARY CHANGES in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown will ensure heads will roll after June 5th, and the battles are not just between parties but within them.
• Cancer services make way for rising joblessness30 May 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: WATERFORD CITY AND COUNTY: FIANNA FÁIL saw its representation drop from four to just one member on the 15-seat Waterford City Council in the 2004 local elections, with the party relegated to third place behind Fine Gael and Labour in terms of total first preference vote.
• Over-building to the fore in Wicklow29 May 2009COUNTY COUNCIL PROFILE: WICKLOW: IN THE Garden County, local politics is frequently related to development. As far south as Arklow, relentless house-building throughout the boom years has put intense pressure on services, as the badly-polluted Avoca river can attest.
• Some new blood guaranteed following decision of well-known councillors to retire28 May 2009COUNTY COUNCIL PROFILE/SOUTH TIPPERARY: TIPPERARY IS a psephologist’s dream. The Premier County has no less than nine different council elections on June 5th. North Tipperary accounts for four, while voters in the old South Riding district will choose members for the South Tipperary County Council, a borough council in Clonmel and town councils in Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel, and Tipperary.
• Jobs, water quality, services and farming are main issues28 May 2009COUNTY COUNCIL PROFILE:/GALWAY: SOME WOULD describe its approach as “mature”, while others might not be quite so generous. Either way, Galway County Council is regarded as a rather civilised chamber in contrast to its rather boisterous counterpart in City Hall.
• FF candidates hope personal loyalties will prevail28 May 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: CORK CITY: THE BIG question in Cork city, as it is nationwide, is to what extent Fianna Fáil candidates can appeal to personal loyalties to insulate themselves from public anger over the party’s performance in Government and its handling of an economic crisis which has seen unemployment in the city rise by over 7,000 in the year to April 2009.
• Fine Gael looks certain to extend its lead over FF27 May 2009COUNTY COUNCIL PROFILE: CORK: THE FOCUS on the local elections to Cork County Council will be on whether Fine Gael will improve on its performance in 2004 to move even further clear of Fianna Fáil.
• Labour and Greens seek seats on council dominated by FF, FG and SF27 May 2009COUNTY COUNCIL PROFILE: LEITRIM: LABOUR AND the Green Party are attempting to break through the traditional political dominance of Leitrim County Council.
• Familiar faces return, but flying different flags26 May 2009COUNTY COUNCIL PROFILE: LONGFORD: FINE GAEL was in the unusual position of having all of its 11 candidates elected in the Longford County Council elections in 2004.
• Major parties tread carefully in pothole county26 May 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: CAVAN: CAVAN PEOPLE signalled their unwillingness to be taken for granted when they voted four so-called “pothole” candidates into office.
• Sinn Féin and Fine Gael in tight race for top spot25 May 2009COUNTY COUNCIL PROFILE: MONAGHAN: MONAGHAN WAS unique among counties in returning Sinn Féin as the biggest party at the local elections in 2004.
• Redrawn wards make for tough urban battles25 May 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: DUBLIN CITY: THE LARGEST local authority in the State changed beyond recognition in the 2004 elections with two-thirds – 33 out of 52 councillors – taking office for the first time following the end of the dual mandate.
• Many local issues but national mood prevails23 May 2009CITY COUNCIL PROFILE: GALWAY: WATER QUALITY is synonymous with Galway, and should be on the mind of the city electorate. Traffic, over-development and cutbacks in health and education should also be large local issues, but candidates attest to a “national mood” among voters faced so far.
• Jobs and planning on the minds of Limerick voters23 May 2009COUNTY COUNCIL PROFILE: LIMERICK: LARGE-SCALE job losses, particularly at US computer giant Dell and German car components manufacturer Kostal, are having a severe impact on areas of Co Limerick, where unemployment is among the key election issues.
• Boundary changes present openings in electoral areas22 May 2009COUNTY COUNCIL PROFILE: KILDARE: A REDRAWING of constituency boundaries means that there are now five electoral areas in Kildare, with Celbridge and Leixlip having been amalgamated.
• Fianna Fáil in Kilkenny a hotbed of dissidents22 May 2009COUNTY COUNCIL PROFILE: KILKENNY: LIKE THE old Soviet Union’s Communist Party on the eve of a Stalinist purge, Fianna Fáil in Kilkenny is bristling with dissidents. The Solzhenitsyn of the gulag is poll-topping TD John McGuinness, whose sacking as a junior minister by Taoiseach Brian Cowen last month still reverberates.
• Fearful Fianna Fáil must tackle internal dissent20 May 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: LOUTH: LOUTH MAY be called the Wee County because of its geographical size but packed into it is a population that had reached 111,267 by the 2006 census.
• 'Dynasty' candidates dominate in local polls20 May 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: ROSCOMMON: TWO THINGS stand out where the local elections in Roscommon are concerned. One is the remarkable number of family “dynasty” candidates, and second is the real possibility that at least one electoral area – the largest in the county – may not elect even one Government party councillor.
• Jobs and downgrade of hospital the main issues20 May 2009COUNCIL PROFILE: WEXFORD: AN 85 per cent increase in unemployment and anger over the proposed transfer of services from Wexford General Hospital to Waterford are key issues facing candidates battling for the 21 seats of Wexford County Council.
• Cowen cautious about FF regaining a majority19 May 2009CONSTITUENCY PROFILE/CLARE: TAOISEACH Brian Cowen was cautious yesterday when asked if Fianna Fáil will regain its majority on the 32-seat Clare Council.

European Battlegrounds

• Higgins could squeeze out two incumbents3 Jun 2009ANALYSIS: EU ELECTIONS: DUBLIN:  The Socialist candidate has made a close race for the final seat all the more interesting
• EU critic's anti-Islam stance wins controversy and votes1 Jun 2009EU PROFILE: THE NETHERLANDS: GEERT WILDERS, a former civil servant sporting a platinum-blond bouffant hairstyle, stands on the cusp of a significant electoral breakthrough in the Netherlands.
• Overloaded voters struggle to maintain interest in the face of lacklustre campaigns28 May 2009COUNTRY PROFILE/GERMANY: When Germans refer to 2009 as their Superwahljahr or “Super Election Year”, few have the European elections in mind.
• De Brún victory would mark demoralising blow for DUP26 May 2009CONSTITUENCY PROFILE: NORTHERN IRELAND This election could see Jim Allister establish his Traditional Unionist Voice as a formidable new force, writes GERRY MORIARTY 
• BNP breakthrough could spell the end of Brown premiership23 May 2009COUNTRY PROFILE: BRITAIN MIGHT THE European and English local elections spell the end for Gordon Brown’s leadership?
• Apathy of French political class mirrored by voters22 May 2009COUNTRY PROFILE: FRANCE: EVERY FIVE years, European elections shine a spotlight on the hypocrisy of France’s political parties, who profess love for the European project but treat the European Parliament as if it were a sideshow, a sinecure and a parking lot for has-been politicians.
• Autumn general election holds more sway than European vote20 May 2009Domestic battles dominate the Czech European vote, writes DANIEL MCLAUGHLIN 
• Dire economic situation features prominently18 May 2009EU PROFILE: SPAIN: WHEN SPAIN acceded to EU membership in 1986, its people were among the most enthusiastic of Europeans. The country has done well from its membership by investing in roads, railways and modern infrastructure. But now the gilt is wearing off; there are more eurosceptics and less interest in decisions made in Brussels or the men and women who are supposed to represent them in the European Parliament.
• Elections seen as plebiscite on Berlusconi16 May 2009EU PROFILE: ITALY: FOR 15 years now, when Italy goes to the polls (any polls), one figure dominates all calculations – current prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
• Desperate media latches on to Libertas Polska14 May 2009EU PROFILE: POLAND: THE EUROPEAN election campaign in Poland is gearing up to be a particularly Polish mix of enthusiasm and apathy.