Poll shows increase in support for Fine Gael

Sully

A new opinion poll shows that three out of five voters say they would support the two Government parties in an election.

The Red C poll for tomorrow's Sunday Business Post gives Fine Gael its highest rating since this series of polls began in 2004.
The poll was taken among 1,000 voters on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, during and just after President Obama's visit - and with no election in sight, the proportion of undecided voters, at 13%, is surprisingly low.
Once the undecided voters are excluded, support for Fine Gael is up two points since last month to 41%. Labour is up one point to 19%.
Fianna Fáil support is flat at 16% and support for Sinn Féin is unchanged at 11%.
The Government gains also come at the expense of Independents and others, down three points to 13%.

Source: http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0528/poll.html

I think this gives a very interesting insight into how people are rating the government parties, and I would think its down to their performance so far. Fine Gael continues to grow with Labour holding steady. Sadly, no question on the leaders popularity.

Despite comments from some people in the media and on boards, it seems people are happy with the government and are continuing to support them. Those who are suggesting otherwise, and saying the people want a different option, are yet again proved wrong. Poll after poll and election after election we see a strong enough message sent to those towards the left.

Early days though, and that's important when looking at this poll and the others.

the groutch

I think I'd want to see another one before making any judgements, having a poll while Obama's in town and everyone's upbeat could potentially be biased

mike65

None of the opposition have done anything to gain preference % and the government hasn't dropped any proper clangers yet.

In happy with them so far...

Sully

the groutch wrote: »

I think I'd want to see another one before making any judgements, having a poll while Obama's in town and everyone's upbeat could potentially be biased

There have been a couple since the election. I think this is the third one? The later two showed a pull for Fine Gael upwards, a slight drop for Labour but it seems to gave settled.

mike65 wrote: »

None of the opposition have done anything to gain preference % and the government hasn't dropped any proper clangers yet.

What opposition?!

I'd have thought that maybe the whole pension fiasco would hit the party.

nesf

I must admit they're working together better than I had expected which was fairly good to begin with. Impressed, can see a second term if they keep things going as they are since there's no real Opposition to them at the moment.

Nijmegen

A poll boost is to be expected, given all that's in it.

Call me the day after the next budget and ask me my opinion...

later12

It's very early days yet, and this JLC issue is their first real test, since the interest rate still hasn't been resolved.

I'm already impressed with Fine Gael, and if Labour manage to keep with the tough love approach to austerity, I will be impressed with them too. However, Labour have it all to prove for now, and we shall have to see how this JLC issue pans out. These could be some significant hiccups for a party just digging into its starters.

Anyone willing to make a prediction about a snap election in the next 12 months and a FG majority? I would see it as a firm possibility if the ratings keep on like this.

I wonder if Ireland is ready for single party governance.

RDM_83 again

"A Sunday Independent/ Quantum Research telephone poll found more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of people disagreed with Mr Bruton that lower-paid workers in the service industries should take a substantial pay cut to boost competitiveness."
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/split-looming-as-fg-deputies-come-out-to-attack-labour-2660729.html

Polls like this show a different opinion of the attitudes of the public to the more right wing of FG 'policy' which may indicate a swing could occur when FG start trying to implement their ideas

gaffer91

Agree partly with Mike65's comment-the opposition haven't really done anything.
Also agree with Sully-I would have thought the pension debacle would have impacted the governments popularity-perhaps the effect of this was somewhat negated by a counterbalancing upswing from the visits.

BlaasForRafa

RDM_83 again wrote: »

"A Sunday Independent/ Quantum Research telephone poll found more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of people disagreed with Mr Bruton that lower-paid workers in the service industries should take a substantial pay cut to boost competitiveness."
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/split-looming-as-fg-deputies-come-out-to-attack-labour-2660729.html

Polls like this show a different opinion of the attitudes of the public to the more right wing of FG 'policy' which may indicate a swing could occur when FG start trying to implement their ideas

I think people realise that private sector workers pay has already fallen over the last 3 years and hitting them again would be unfair. Also until the government do something concrete about public sector pay and work practices there will be little willingness to take more pain.

The Waltzing Consumer

RDM_83 again wrote: »

"A Sunday Independent/ Quantum Research telephone poll found more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of people disagreed with Mr Bruton that lower-paid workers in the service industries should take a substantial pay cut to boost competitiveness."
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/split-looming-as-fg-deputies-come-out-to-attack-labour-2660729.html

Polls like this show a different opinion of the attitudes of the public to the more right wing of FG 'policy' which may indicate a swing could occur when FG start trying to implement their ideas

I would have to question the actual poll there. Obviously no one wants lower paid employees to get a "substantial" cut, but what is "substantial" as the poll question is phrased? Is reducing sunday pay from time a half or time and a quarter to normal pay really "substantial"? It is a bit confusing.

Also, the Sindo is using very biased language in its article. Just look at the first paragraph to see the tone and slant they put on the article, rather then just reporting the facts, the include emotive phrases and wishful negative thinking:

"Split looming as FG deputies come out to attack Labour.
Two Fine Gael TDs have come out strongly in support of embattled Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton and to round on Labour, in what amounts to an escalation of hostilities in the Government."

I have noticed the Sindo has used this type of language whenever they dislike particular ministers, policies and Governments. It is not just limited to FG and Lab, but with all parties and politicians. It is certainly the most obvious paper that throws away objectivity and tries to shape opinion rather then being fair and balanced.

Trash

Liam Byrne

As with the poster above, I'd be very wary of believing anything the Sindo comes out with - it's a paper that takes the phrase "lies, damn lies and statistics" to a whole new level.

Whatever about the Red C part, I'd definitely ignore any "interpretation" by their "journalists", who seem to manage to put two & two together one-behind-the other and turned 90 degrees in the 3D plane so that the answer is "invisible"

end a eknny

DOES ANYBODY BELIEVE THESE POLLS AND EVEN IF THEY DID WHAT RELEVANCE DO THEY HAVE

Denerick

Wait until the next budget. Then we'll see what the polls say. Regardless of who is in power we will see ever more draconian cuts and a general deterioration of our quality of life.

Rubik.

The treatment of another poll in Sindo demonstrates precisely why I dislike the paper so much. The question asked - should Ireland leave the eurozone? Result - No 80% & Yes 20%.

The logical headline would have been - "Four in Five feel we must stay in the EU", but obviously dissappointed with the results they decided to spin intead with the headline - "One in Five feel we must start process of leaving EU".:rolleyes:

fat__tony

I think the government have been pretty toothless so far.

They'll last until 2016 and they'll be gone in the next election.

serfboard

later10 wrote: »

Anyone willing to make a prediction about a snap election in the next 12 months and a FG majority?

They better not try it - what we have now is as close to a national government as we need - meaning for any policy, a consensus has to be formed between centre-left and centre-right. To that end, I'm surprised by the robustness of some of the Labour members of government in telling the trade unions and the public sector just how things really are. (Ruari Quinn, for example).

Rubik. wrote: »

The treatment of another poll in Sindo demonstrates precisely why I dislike the paper so much. The question asked - should Ireland leave the eurozone? Result - No 80% & Yes 20%.

The logical headline would have been - "Four in Five feel we must stay in the EU", but obviously dissappointed with the results they decided to spin intead with the headline - "One in Five feel we must start process of leaving EU".:rolleyes:

Yep - it's precisely why, as another poster has said, that this rag is trash and that's why I never buy it.

johnnyskeleton

Sully wrote: »

Fine Gael continues to grow with Labour holding steady.
...
Poll after poll and election after election we see a strong enough message sent to those towards the left.

Your political bias / party allegance is quite badly showing here I'm afraid. FG went up 2 points to 41, Labour 1 to 19. In percentage terms, both went up c. 5.5% i.e. both went up by the same relative amount but as FG are bigger they showed a bigger absolute increase.

Again, it is trite to say that this shows a strong message to the left as an impartial observer would say it shows a strong message away from independents towards big parties, particularly the current government parties.

But by all means it's your tread spin it as you will.

later12

end a eknny wrote: »

DOES ANYBODY BELIEVE THESE POLLS

YES.

AND EVEN IF THEY DID WHAT RELEVANCE DO THEY HAVE

THEY ARE INDICATORS OF THE VIEWS OF THE PEOPLE WITH REGARD TO PUBLIC POLICY. DID YOUR MOTHER EVER TELL YOU IT IS RUDE TO SCREAM WHEN INDOORS?

mikemac

As said, show me the poll the day after the next budget

That's the one to watch

Sully

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Your political bias / party allegance is quite badly showing here I'm afraid. FG went up 2 points to 41, Labour 1 to 19. In percentage terms, both went up c. 5.5% i.e. both went up by the same relative amount but as FG are bigger they showed a bigger absolute increase.

Again, it is trite to say that this shows a strong message to the left as an impartial observer would say it shows a strong message away from independents towards big parties, particularly the current government parties.

But by all means it's your tread spin it as you will.

In regards to my left related comment - the left keep shouting telling us that their way is the only solution and that the people want such. But, the people have always and continue in a majority, supported the right side of politics.

Poll after poll, election after election, the big parties do better and there is a reason why they are the larger parties compared to the small left based politicians who are generally always in the minority.

2point increase is further away from a margin of error, while a 1point increase is more within in my view. I say Fine Gael support has risen, as each poll has showed a steady increase while others are up and down. So I would believe that there was an increase here, based on previous polls.

The overall picture shows which way people are thinking, in a majority.

PeterIanStaker

Its surreal that 16% of those surveyed would still vote for FF. Oh well, hopefully a very cold winter will kill them off.

RDM_83 again

In relation to this argument I feel that that what ever INN spin on things is Enda has to keep tight controll of his party et al Bruton and Varadkar as the Labour party are not the greens and probably don;t see this spell in goverment as the final achievement of their goals (and the 90's should illustrate this point)

end a eknny

later10 wrote: »

YES.
THEY ARE INDICATORS OF THE VIEWS OF THE PEOPLE WITH REGARD TO PUBLIC POLICY. DID YOUR MOTHER EVER TELL YOU IT IS RUDE TO SCREAM WHEN INDOORS?

even if this was true what relevance has this got. the goverment should be their to apply the policies that are best for the country not policies that will keep the masses happy. do these polls ask leading questions, do people tell the truth when answering them, is there a certain type of person who would bother answering these polls,.
are they really a genuine representation of the whole country.

Liam Byrne

Well it's just gone down in this household after hearing the news this morning!

Yes, we know the problems are FF-related
Yes, we know "not as corrupt as FF" is an improvement

But FFS cull the waste before making us emigrate or slit our ****ing wrists due to not being able to make ends meet!!!!!

And yes, we did notice the "let's call it a charge instead of a tax" stunt!

Jesus Christ does anyone in Dáil Eireann live on the same planet as ordinary people ?

blahfckingblah

Liam Byrne wrote: »

And yes, we did notice the "let's call it a charge instead of a tax" stunt!

oh you and your silly notions a tax is a manditory fee paid to the state the universal social charge is.... fair point

Liam Byrne

PeterIanStaker wrote: »

Its surreal that 16% of those surveyed would still vote for FF. Oh well, hopefully a very cold winter will kill them off.

Want to distance myself from an earlier thanks (now removed) - I read "kill them off" as FF, whereas on re-reading it appears that the post refers to the older voters, and I in no way want to be associated with that train of thought.

Challenge and change the choice criteria behind their voting by all means, but hoping they'll die is way out of line.

So apologies for the misdirected thanks.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

I can't see this satisfaction lasting. Eventually people will grow angry as cuts and tax hikes hit them.

Sully

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

I can't see this satisfaction lasting. Eventually people will grow angry as cuts and tax hikes hit them.

True, but there is always the possibility that people have accepted the above is a given. It was more a case of not liking Fianna Fail or their approach to government in the past few years. Plus the blame was laid square at them for getting us into this mess.

Depends on their approach I guess

johngalway

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

Eventually people will grow angry as cuts and tax hikes hit them.

Of course. But the current Govt didn't promise sunshine and roses. They promised difficult cuts and painful times ahead.

Time "people" took their head out of the sand.

end a eknny

johngalway wrote: »

Of course. But the current Govt didn't promise sunshine and roses. They promised difficult cuts and painful times ahead.

Time "people" took their head out of the sand.

you want to go back and look at their election manifestos. we all would have two jobs. the goverment would be paying or mortages and the imf would bow to f.g and labours superior intelligence and drop the interest to 1%. they should have a poll of people to see if anybody can tell the difference between f.f and the greens and f.g and labour

Liam Byrne

johngalway wrote: »

Of course. But the current Govt didn't promise sunshine and roses. They promised difficult cuts and painful times ahead.

Time "people" took their head out of the sand.

They EXPLICITLY promised "no more taxes". So they lied to get elected. And for that they should be sued for misrepresentation.

Hopefully the first step might be triggered by that idiot who promised to deliver cancer services within 100 days - you cannot lie to get elected anymore! My hope is that Kenny will fire him for making such promises, but since FG as a whole did the same, I won't hold my breath.

If that starts the ball rolling, great!

johngalway

I'm not here to defend anyone. I voted FG on the basis they were the most honest and capable looking lot at the time. So far, I'm happy with how they're getting on. If ye want to remain in the mindset of people under the FF/PD/Green/Ind regime, I won't stop ye, but, I'm a lot happier out from under it.

Liam Byrne

johngalway wrote: »

I'm not here to defend anyone. I voted FG on the basis they were the most honest and capable looking lot at the time. So far, I'm happy with how they're getting on. If ye want to remain in the mindset of people under the FF/PD/Green/Ind regime, I won't stop ye, but, I'm a lot happier out from under it.

Agreed, which is why they got my
#2

The fact that we've lost the most corrupt party in history is great, however that's no excuse for letting the new shower get away with lying through their teeth and screwing us some more.

Ethics, honesty and accountability has improved with the welcome demise of FF, but it's still not at an acceptable level; if you promise something to get elected you should damn well stick to it or resign.

Sully

Its a coalition lads, for god sake expect changes to what they said during an election campaign! Every party said they were bringing in taxes, but differed in how much. Water Charges were in the Programme for Government also.

To be honest,no government in the known world,made up of human beings could possibly compose themselves to disseminate information without making mistakes or having to compromise thereby upsetting some.

Expecting anything different is unreasonable.

@ liambyrne-I don't see where it's reasonable to say they lied.
The manifestos are what their party fought for when negotiating the programme for government.
If you voted for FG in the last election , you should have known you were voting for a position in that negotiation rather than the outcome.
The outcome is what we have.

Ergo I think it's obviously ott to be either expecting a full FG programme or giving out that we don't have it.
The country didn't give enough of a mandate for the full FG manifesto.
It got close mind you but still cigars are either there or they are not.

end a eknny

Deleted User wrote: »

To be honest,no government in the known world,made up of human beings could possibly compose themselves to disseminate information without making mistakes or having to compromise thereby upsetting some.

Expecting anything different is unreasonable.
i think its safe to say election promises are equivalent to what a dirty old man might say to a young woman who if he gets his way then intends to screw her and leave her with nothing anybody who voted for fine gael on the basis of their election promises was like a naive young gir

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Whatever about Fine Gael, I definitely think Labour have revealed themselves to have lied through their teeth during the election campaign.