The Official 2016 Irish General Election thread

[Tony Baloney]

Worshipping and hatred are both blind muppet. By you logic had SF got 30% you'd have been saying they should have got 35%.  The phrases"there's no point debating is always a good retreat strategy😛

If they had got 35% they would have been the biggest party and would be in pole position to form a government.

How on earth is that my logic?

They appear to be a very poor 3rd to FG & FF who are both suffering from association with austerity.

FF will improve, this seems to be lost on everyone. FG will probably stay as they are now and below the 2011 figures. If the economy doesn't crash again we could easily slip back to the 1980s/1990s Lanigan's Ball politics of FF steps in and FG steps out. Whither SF then?

It will crash again the way things are going. Neoliberalism is all about impoverishING working class people so SF have a bright future.

Have you ever been to the North?! SF don't want the working classes to achieve economic prosperity in case they get above their station and start looking at other parties which support the working man and woman. They have spent 30 years helping people fill in DLA and dole forms instead of seeking inward investment.

[muppet]

Mick Wallace's tally in North Wexford is half of the 2011 figure. I have no idea whether that is signifiant, but I hope so!

Jaysus I hate politics, but I love a good count.

There's a joke there muppet! Aye no one in my house has the least understanding of my love of elections

I am getting worried that I will waste the whole day, watching people that I have no time for, to see if they succeed in something I hate.

[muppet]

Healy-Rae Party claims victory and seek to form next government!

[muppet]

Interesting tweet:

Ronan Burtenshaw ‏@ronanburtenshaw  16m16 minutes ago
June 1927 only Irish election similar to #ge16. CnaG 27.4, FF 26.2, Lab 12.6, Farmers 8.9, NLP 7.3, SF 3.6. Led to another election in Sept.

[muppet]

Early tally in Wexford:



5 seats I think, so either Howlin or Wallace in trouble, or both!

[Declan]

Mark Mortell - senior strategist with Fine Gael and confidant to the Taoiseach - has said Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will have to consider the situation of working together despite both parties being against the prospect before the election.

However he said it won't be easy for the two parties to take the big step and come together, and the prospect of a fresh election was "very, very high".

Speaking to Seán O'Rourke on RTÉ Radio One, Mr Mortell said Fine Gael was always going to come back with fewer seats. He added that it looked like it was not going to be a good day for the party and that they might only come back with fewer than 50 seats. 

[weareros]

Think both FG and Labour need to lick their wounds and head into opposition benches. They were rejected in a big way. If people voted for resurgent FF, SF and Independents, they are the ones with the mandate. Let them govern. If it doesn't work out we'll have another election. If it does then you'll have to hand it to them.

[Hardy]

Early tally in Wexford:

I feel good.

[Declan]

Michael McGrath of Fianna Fáil said there was an onus on everyone to put the country first and work for a stable government. He said it was not just Fianna Fáil's responsibility.

He said that voters were giving mixed messages, rather than one clear and simple message.


Mmmm - in the national interest😉 I reckon you'll be hearing that phrase a lot in the next few days

[Declan]

I'm finding it hard to watch and listen to the FFer's at the moment to be honest

[muppet]

Michael McGrath of Fianna Fáil said there was an onus on everyone to put the country first and work for a stable government. He said it was not just Fianna Fáil's responsibility.

He said that voters were giving mixed messages, rather than one clear and simple message.


Mmmm - in the national interest😉 I reckon you'll be hearing that phrase a lot in the next few days

This is the usual guff you hear. Everyone interprets the 'voters message' to suit themselves.

Boyd-Barrett called it a revolution, as I think he has called every election he has stood in. <5% is hardly a revolution.

[AZOffaly]

I think both Healy Raes will stroll into the Dail. To be honest I think FG and FF should just join again, and be the party which represents most people. Then Sinn Fein and the other left leaning parties, maybe with Labour going back to their roots, could at least be a viable alternative.

[seafoid]

Why would #GE2 give a different result?

[manfromdelmonte]

Finally, a Dail more reflective of a diverse Ireland

Smaller parties, local politics and a bit more of a left leaning vote.

[muppet]

I think both Healy Raes will stroll into the Dail. To be honest I think FG and FF should just join again, and be the party which represents most people. Then Sinn Fein and the other left leaning parties, maybe with Labour going back to their roots, could at least be a viable alternative.

Surely that is the message the voters have sent? 

The political landscape appears very odd these days. FG, Renua on the right (no PDs) along with a couple of independents like Shane Ross, FF everywhere on the spectrum, Labour a biteen to the left, SF a lot further left and then a smattering of extreme far leftists.

THB I think this election and the last one could be a peak for all of these left parties. The post-crash depression won't last forever, and Ireland seems to be coping the best in Europe (although that isn't saying much). The left could whittle down to maybe two parties eventually, possibly even one if Labour blow up like the PDs did.