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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > Shock as Fianna Fail Zombie back from the dead -- New opinion poll shows party heading the rest

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Shock as Fianna Fail Zombie back from the dead -- New opinion poll shows party heading the rest

Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 06:59 AM

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Leader of the Fianna Fail party Micheal Martin

Who wudda thunk it?

Less than two years after receiving the worst trashing in Irish electoral history and falling from 41 per cent to 17 per cent support Fianna Fail are back.

Yes, that Fianna Fail, the party that was as popular as bed bugs in a nun’s knickers when the last election came around after their ‘light touch’ on regulation destroyed the economy.

Two opinion polls show them ahead of Fine Gael and every other party, standing at around 27 per cent.
In the immortal words of Gerry Adams, “They haven’t gone away you know.”

No, and they are back, but why?

It smacks of voter desperation frankly, and anyone but the current shower, to use an Irish vernacular.

Times are still very bad, emigration is an ever-constant, the EU bankers are not really lifting their boot from Irish necks over the bank debt and the decision to guarantee Anglo and other banks loans looks like it was a massive mistake. (See Iceland)

Read more on Irish politics here

Despite the fact that it was Fianna Fail that took that step, they are now absolved from it. It’s like they went to Lourdes and worked a miracle.

It is hard to fathom the Irish voter. They were greedy too in the good times, and voters elect the governments they deserve.

Now they want to throw their toys out of the pram again despite the current government squarely facing up to their responsibilities and doing their best -- or so it seems to me.

Read More: New poll finds Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin most popular leader in Ireland

That is obviously not the view from Dublin and elsewhere and vengeance is high on the agenda.

There was a media consensus that Fianna Fail would not be back in power for a generation, if ever, and the party would have a desperately hard time surviving but like lemmings to a cliff the voters are flocking back.

Party leader Michael Martin is clearly making a good fist of it.

Still, the results of these polls are shocking. Memories are indeed very short and demands to do better are heard loud and clear.

But the Irish voter needs to look in the mirror too to discover who is to blame for all this perdition that Ireland is experiencing. Voting for Fianna Fail will hardly make it any better.

Read more: Magdalene survivors call for fair compensation package ahead of Irish government meeting See more: Fianna Fail , Irish News , Irish government

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SarahinLA | Feb 22, 2013, 11:59 AM EST

At a loss to explain the mindset of those polled who would put fianna fail back in control. They made such a mess of things between 2002 and 2011 that it necessitated calling in the IMF and others.

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Smyrnian | Feb 20, 2013, 10:05 PM EST

Gobdaw - Take out the word Irish and substitute the word American and you have the exact same thing.

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gobdawpaddy | Feb 20, 2013, 08:11 PM EST

The Irish aren't noted for making intelligent choices at the polls. In contemporary history they have elected and re-elected some questionable characters whom you wouldn't put running a candy store. If they are stupid enough to want to return Fianna Fail to government, just two years after they kicked them out for destroying the country and it's reputation, giving away it's sovereignty, let them off. I certainly wont be risking my reputation promoting FDI if the people are this foolish.

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IrelandNorth | Feb 20, 2013, 03:01 AM EST

Better to opt for self-rule however imperfectly, than to forever hide behind the apron strings of a surrogate mother monarch. Everyone has to grow-up sometime, and stop gurgling whilst being spoon-fed subventions by a matriarch. The Whitehall paps that used to give suck have run dry. And as for the southies, time to move on from the political theology of counter-revolutionary/civil war politics and back to the future of a Sínn Féin/Labour coalition government.

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upsceach | Feb 19, 2013, 08:14 PM EST

polls. dont mean anything,wait till the election. jumping the gun a little I think

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anglo-norman | Feb 19, 2013, 05:58 PM EST

seanomelb- Wht don't you live in Ireland aussie?

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Smyrnian | Feb 19, 2013, 05:54 PM EST

Joe Glackin - I too am of a 'certain age' and I agree with you entirely as I remember too. That is exactly the way it was and is. Very well said, Sir.

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Joe Glackin | Feb 19, 2013, 05:38 PM EST

Ireland for decades voted on Civil war Politics especially in rural areas inc villages and towns. So in a sense it could be assumed the electorate are Politically uneducated. It was family or local community, traditions to vote Fianna Fail or Fine Gael. I rem the older generations who lived or were born in 1880,s to 1920,s, my grandparents era and their traditional voting modes. The nanming of houses/ families that were blue shirts or good Dev people. Even the pubs to the undertaker were used depending on whichever side they were. It was a big investigation when the new Priest came to their parish " Hes a Dev man or blueshirt. Uncles wouldnt go to nieces or nephews weddings for marrying a blueshirt. That tradition was enforced right through to the 1980,s approx. Today Ireland is obviously different for example, many see the occupied 6 Counties as a different Country . So whoever is in Power in bad times is not an option for re-electing. Theres little study or interest on who or how the country was compromised by an earlier Govt But in saying all this how responsible are previous Fianna fail Govt as they acted in panic. Both they and all those others through human failing of greed were in a sense deceived by their Celtic Tiger. The Economic success etc were far beyond Economical reason or theorems. The Govt were advised by its Banks in all Financial areas . The Banks were borrowing on faith from British ,German and other foreign financial institutions. To day those who practically own the Irish Banks and dictates Govts spending are what I see as a conspiracy to gain control of Ireland.Theres obvious reasons for this too

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Opening Salvo | Feb 19, 2013, 05:38 PM EST

Says anglo-norman, who's country is on the verge of a triple dip recession.

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seanomelb | Feb 19, 2013, 05:22 PM EST

27% is hardly an endorsement of the electorate. The gombeens below tearing their hair in despair need to take a cold shower. I am amused at the yanks below condemning the Irish, I bet they voted for the looser mitt. Or do they take any opportunity to vilify the Irish because of their dislike of us.

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anglo-norman | Feb 19, 2013, 03:25 PM EST

The Irish are not fit for self-government.

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Smyrnian | Feb 19, 2013, 01:17 PM EST

So what. Nothing uniquely Irish about this. The American people just re-elected an extremely incompetent, inexperienced, socialist community activist as President and now we are seeing the continued stagnation, joblessness, overspending, borrowing from the Chinese and inevitable high taxing from a man and a party that are committed to a socialist, nanny state agenda. It's happening everywhere.

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cillowen | Feb 19, 2013, 12:57 PM EST

the natives are back clinging to the party of their Marrone/Irish Brooklyn-born, England's greatest Spy. A con man who kept them neutral so as to keep footstuff and manpower flowing to Merry O, uninterrupted, during WWII and as per business as usual. Look at the weasly zero who now leads the FF van. How comical, a leader they richly deserve.

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johnbyrne | Feb 19, 2013, 10:43 AM EST

Spin with a capital S.check with the people on the ground in Ireland.ff.are a zombie party just like the bank they supported through ignorance & self intrest.why is their no vote to the Irish overseas they are the real voters as they voted with their feet & took to a safe refuge for them selfs & their familys, ff sold the farm through light touch regulation fg & lab. have just rubber stamped their quisling acts. the manifesto produced by the rats that are running the show as about as much truth as the catholic church denial of child rape.ff & fg are trying every underhanded move to keep S.F.out of forming a government. as for martin in Cork its a pity he didnt drive a bus in C.I.E. like his father as he would have done less damage to the country with a bus.

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TomSwinford | Feb 19, 2013, 10:16 AM EST

I have never been a supporter of Fianna Fail but clearly reports of its death were exaggerated, to say the least. Thus is the state of Irish politics and, as Niall says, voter desperation. Eoghan Harris has an interesting piece in today's Irish Independent on the practically biblical resurrection of FF. Harris point out that while Fianna Fail shared much of the blame for the country's bankruptcy - they were the government in power at the time, Fine Gael and Labour were cheerleading and partaking in the bubble inflation every which way they could - then when the inevitable collapse came they painted themselves as blameless as new-born babes. There was blame enough to go around and the Irish people probably know this, hence, FF's poll-come-back from the dead.

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