Martin puts the Brex on election ..for now
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Demo for housing MICHEAL Martin snuffed out fears of a December election yesterday by promising not to collapse the Government until after Brexit is resolved.
In a letter to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, the Fianna Fail leader said they should both agree to continue to pass the Finance Bill and other legislation until the UK’S withdrawal terms are agreed next year.
He added: “The Irish people would, I am sure you agree, be rightly concerned at any risk that a General Election campaign would have on these talks at such a crucial period and an uncertain post-election situation.
“An election during this critical time would create a dangerous instability during a period when the Brexit deal could be derailed by the constantly changing situation in Westminster.”
But the letter suggests all bets could be off after March 29, when the UK is due to quit the EU.
The olive branch came as a new poll showed support for Fianna Fail has shot up. The results of a survey carried out by Red C on behalf of bookmaker Paddy Power show a leap of five points in support, up to 27%.
And that is before the dramatic resignation of Communications Minister Denis Naughten on Thursday.
The party now enjoys its highest level of support yet in 2018.
But the results do not bode well for Fine Gael, who have gone from an 11 point lead in the most recent Red C poll to seeing Fianna Fail close the gap, leaving Leo Varadkar’s party with just a five point lead.
A Paddy Power spokesperson said: “This opinion poll will have them rubbing their hands together with glee, as it’s certain to give our chaotic Government plenty to chew on over the weekend.”
Fine Gael still command the largest share of first preference votes in October with 32%, down one point, and despite showing a very marginal
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downward trend in recent polls they consistently have had the support of about a third of the population during 2018.
After dropping somewhat in the Red C September poll, Fianna Fail’s gains during October are at the expense of Fine Gael, Labour, the Independents and the Social Democrats.
The research was carried out before Mr Naughten’s dramatic resignation on Thursday. The Taoiseach yesterday said the former Communications Minister had left himself open to the perception he had given someone the “inside track” when it came to a multi-million euro State contract. Speaking in Cavan, he added that when it came to a contract as sizeable as
An election during this critical time would create a dangerous instability MICHEAL MARTIN