AS THE campaign for the European, local and byelections on June 5th got under way this weekend, candidates of all parties reported that the mood among voters ranges from anger to anxiety.
Fine Gael party leader, Enda Kenny, said that the European elections would be the most important ever in terms of their impact on the EU and on national politics.
His deputy leader Richard Bruton said yesterday that the country needed a general election immediately as the Government had “lost the plot”. He said part of the current problem in Ireland was people had lost confidence in the ability of the coalition to solve the country’s difficulties.
"They don't have a strategy, they're floundering and they seem to have lost the plot," he told the This Weekprogramme on RTÉ radio.
Mr Bruton said the electorate was likely to send a very strong message of no confidence to the Government on June 5th.
“A government that loses that level of confidence will be limping along and that will do untold damage to the country,” he said. “So I think the message may get through that a general election is needed sooner rather than later,” said Mr Bruton.
Launching his party’s Euro campaign in Dublin, Mr Kenny appealed to the electorate to vote for Fine Gael candidates to ensure that Ireland had the strongest voice possible in the corridors of power in Brussels.
All seven Fine Gael candidates said at the launch that the mood of the electorate was one of unprecedented anger at the Government for the way it had been running the country.
However, Dublin MEP, Gay Mitchell, cautioned against complacency. “I am a little worried. There is a danger of being like Munster yesterday and being overconfident about the result in Dublin. It is the one constituency that has lost a seat, so one of the sitting MEPs has to go and I have to make sure it is not me.”
Ireland East candidate John Paul Phelan said there was a real appetite for change. “I’ve been involved in politics since I was 19 and have never, ever seen such anger and such a backlash against a government.”
Senator Maria Corrigan, a contender for the Fianna Fáil nomination in the Dublin South byelection, confirmed it was tough canvassing on the doorsteps in her constituency. “I think this reflects the fact that people are really anxious and there is fear about what tomorrow will bring. People want to be reassured that there is a plan. They need to know there is somewhere better at the end of this,” she said.
Senator Corrigan told The Irish Times that she had been nominated by a number of cumainn to contest the Dublin South convention which will be held on Wednesday night.
Shay Brennan, the son of the late Séamus Brennan whose death led to the Dáil vacancy, also declared himself as a candidate at the weekend.
The Fianna Fáil convention for the Dublin Central byelection, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Independent TD, Tony Gregory, will also take place on Wednesday night. The candidates seeking the nomination are expected to be Maurice Ahern, the brother of the former Taoiseach, and Mary Fitzpatrick, daughter of the former TD, Dermot Fitzpatrick.
The Fine Gael candidate in Dublin Central, who has already been selected, is Senator Paschal Donohoe. At the weekend Senator Ivana Bacik, announced she was seeking the Labour nomination in Dublin Central.
Fine Gael has still to reveal its candidate for Dublin South. The party has scheduled a convention for Wednesday night and there has been continuing speculation that a high-profile figure will throw his or her hat into the ring. Mr Bruton said the candidate had an established reputation in other fields and would bring something new to politics.