Sinn Fein tops Irish exit poll, but coalition parties look set for re-election

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Sinn Fein tops Irish exit poll, but coalition parties look set for re-election

File photo of Fine Gael leader Simon Harris speaking at a convention in Athlone, central Ireland on March 24, 2024, after becoming de facto prime minister-in-waiting. Harris took over following the shock resignation of predecessor Leo Varadkar.

Paul ****** | Afp | Getty Images

Ireland’s main opposition party Sinn Fein looked on course to narrowly win the most votes at a general election on Friday, but its two main center-right rivals will likely have enough seats to govern again without it, an exit poll showed.

The exit poll put the left wing Sinn Fein on 21.1%, the center-right Fine Gael of Prime Minister Simon Harris on 21.0% and like-minded coalition partner Fianna Fail on 19.5%.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail pledged ahead of the election to seek to form a coalition without Sinn Fein, just as they did after the 2020 general election when Sinn Fein also narrowly won the popular vote.

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 had suggested the three main parties were neck-and-neck ahead of the vote and that Ireland was headed for a broadly similar result to the last election in 2020.

Harris called the election on the heels of a 10.5 billion euro ($11 billion) giveaway budget that began to put money into voters’ pockets during the campaign, largesse made possible by billions of euros of foreign multinational 

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However a campaign full of missteps for his Fine Gael party, culminating last weekend in a 

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 of Harris walking away from an exasperated care worker, cost them their pre-election lead.

The Government parties also faced 

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 during the campaign at their inability to turn the healthiest public finances in Europe into better public services.

They benefited from a 

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, from 30-35% in polls in 2022 and 2023, in part due to anger among its working class base at relatively ******** immigration policies.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail will likely need the support of at least one other smaller party to reach a majority. They currently govern with the Greens.

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