Fianna Fail looking on course for comprehensive election victory

Fianna Fáil’s return to government is looking increasingly inevitable, according to the results of two newspaper polls released today.

One of the surveys shows the party is running away with the election race and now commands over half the total votes. This would enable it to establish a single-party government for the first time since the 1970s.

However, a second poll is less equivocal, granting Fianna Fáil just over 40 per cent of votes, meaning another coalition partnership would be required.

The results of the IMS/ Sunday Independentsurvey will be most encouraging for the Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, and his followers. It gives his party a massive 51 per cent of expressed first preference votes, far outstripping Fine Gael, who languish way behind on 18 per cent.

Labour show next with ten per cent, closely followed by Sinn Féin, whose supporters make up seven per cent of those polled.

The Greens and the Progressive Democrats follow with three per cent each, with Independents sharing nine per cent between them.

Fianna Fáil will be less heartened, perhaps, by the fact that only 23 per cent of all adults and 43 per cent of FF supporters favoured a single-party government.

The Opposition parties will no doubt be encouraged that all is technically not lost, as a massive 32 per cent of people say they haven’t made their minds up yet.

However, Fianna Fáil will only win 43 per cent of all votes, according to an ICM poll for Ireland on Sunday.

Their nearest rivals Fine Gael trail in at 22 per cent support, with the Labour Party on ten per cent, the PDs, Sinn Féin and the Green Party all on five per cent. Independents show ten per cent support.

ICM interviewed 1,500 voters in all constituencies during the past week.