Ireland Election 24 May 2007

[merseysider]

I could probably vote for any of the Irish political parties with the exception of Sinn Fein and the Progressive Democrats (surely as much of a misnomer as the 'Liberal' Party of Australia).

I think my preferred option would probably be a Fine Gael - Labour coalition as I imagine this would probably be quite a businesslike and centrist government, but with a social conscience.

I have always been fascinated by Fianna Fail and I think they have a great name (it translates as the 'Warriors of Destiny'). It really is an incredible achievement in a democratic society to top the polls in every election since 1932, only once dipping below 40% of the vote; the only similarly successful political party I can think of is the Swedish Social Democrats.

That said, I would probably be reluctant to vote for them as there always seems to be an undercurrent of sleaze and, although I am fairly pragmatic and non-ideological, I think that every party should at least stand for some basic core principles which distinguish itself from the others.

Who are the people who vote for FF? Do they have a core vote in the way that British parties do (e.g. the urban working class for Labour; the Home Counties upper middle classes for the Tories), or is their support fairly evenly drawn from all elements of society. Is there anyone Irish on here who has any insight into this?