FILE PHOTO: Fine Gael leader Simon Harris speaks at a conference in Athlone, central Ireland, March 24, 2024, after becoming the de facto prime minister-elect. Harris takes over following the shock resignation of predecessor Leo Varadkar.
Paul Faith | AFP | Getty Images
Ireland’s main opposition Sinn Féin is expected to narrowly win the most votes in Friday’s general election, exit polls show, but its two main center-right rivals are likely to have enough seats to win without Sinn Féin. Governed again.
Exit polls showed left-wing Sinn Féin on 21.1%, Prime Minister Simon Harris’s centre-right Fine Gael party on 21.0% and like-minded coalition partner Fianna Fail on 19.5%.
Fine Gael and Fine Gael committed before the election to seeking to form a Sinn Féin-free coalition, as they did after the 2020 election, when Sinn Féin also narrowly won the popular vote.
poll It has said the three main parties are evenly matched heading into the vote and Ireland will get a broadly similar result to the last election in 2020.
Harris announced the election on the heels of a 10.5 billion euro ($11 billion) grant budget that started putting money into voters’ pockets during the campaign, made possible by billions of euros in largesse from foreign multinationals. corporate tax revenue.
However, his Fine Gael campaign has been riddled with mistakes, culminating in a campaign event last weekend. viral clip Harris walked away from an angry paramedic, costing them a pre-election lead.
Government parties still face general frustration During the campaign they failed to transform Europe’s healthiest public finances into better public services.
they benefit from Slideshow supporting Sinn FéinThat share increased from 30% to 35% in the 2022 and 2023 polls, driven in part by anger among working-class groups over relatively liberal immigration policies.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are likely to need the support of at least one other minor party to gain a majority. They are currently in power with the Green Party.
