US intelligence confirms ISIS-K behind Moscow concert attack
Fine Gael has received a marginal uplift in support ahead of the election of Simon Harris as leader, but the wider public would have preferred Simon Coveney or Paschal Donohoe as taoiseach, a Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks opinion poll shows.
With Mr Harris elevated to the party leadership today, the poll, conducted on Friday and yesterday, found Fine Gael is up two points (at 22pc), but nationally, only 16pc of respondents wanted the higher education minister to succeed Leo Varadkar as leader of the country.
In a head-to-head, the poll finds more people would prefer the position of taoiseach reverted to Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin (42pc) ahead of Mr Harris (31pc).
There is also a significant 16-point increase in support for an immediate general election, now almost equal to support for the Government to serve full-term until March next year.
Among all voters, Mr Coveney and Mr Donohoe (both 21pc) are preferred as Fine Gael leader and taoiseach over Mr Harris.
However, among Fine Gael supporters, the poll — conducted after Mr Harris was confirmed as the only candidate to replace Leo Varadkar — revealed onethird (32pc) backed Mr Harris as party leader and taoiseach ahead of Public Expenditure Minister Mr Donohoe (25pc) and Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney (25pc).
But among Fianna Fáil voters, Mr Coveney (31pc) and Mr Donohoe (30pc) were preferred over Mr Harris (16pc).
The state of the parties is: Sinn Féin (27pc), unchanged; Fine Gael (22pc), up two points; Fianna Fáil (17pc), down one; Social Democrats (6pc), down one; Aontú (4pc), up two; Labour (4pc), unchanged; Greens (4pc), unchanged; Solidarity-PBP (2pc), unchanged; and Independents (14pc), down three.
The increase in support for Aontú and decrease for Independents may reflect
Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, has claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting attack at a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday which killed at least 133 people.US intelligence services confirmed yesterday that the group was responsible for the attack, which has left Russians in mourning.
public sentiment in the aftermath of the Government’s unsuccessful March 8 family and care referendums, which were opposed by Peadar Tóibín’s party.
Asked about the replacement of Mr Varadkar by Mr Harris, the poll found 63pc were of the view it will make no difference to whether they would vote Fine Gael at the next election, with 19pc saying Mr Harris’s leadership made it more likely and 15pc saying it was less likely they would vote for the party.
Similarly, 50pc were of the view there would be “no difference” between Mr Harris and Mr Varadkar in tackling issues such as housing, the health service and immigration, but 23pc believed Mr Harris would be more successful while 18pc said less successful.
A notable finding in the poll has been a surge in support for an immediate general election, up 16 points since earlier this month to 35pc. There is a corresponding view that Mr Harris should seek his own mandate and call an election immediately (47pc).
However, there was also a five-point increase in support for the Government to go full-term (38pc), while 41pc said Mr Harris did not need to seek his own mandate at this stage.
These findings may lead to louder calls among the opposition for an immediate election, though Mr Harris is highly unlikely to agree to that demand.
Asked whether 37-year-old Wicklow TD Mr Harris, who has never held a senior economic or foreign affairs portfolio, had the experience and qualities required to be a successful Taoiseach, 46pc said no, 36pc said yes and 18pc did not know.
While three-quarters (73pc) of Fine Gael voters had no doubts about his experience and qualities, 10pc said Mr Harris lacked such attributes and 17pc did not know; among Fianna Fáil voters, 31pc did not believe he had the experience or qualities and 22pc did not know.
Meanwhile, departing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has an unchanged approval rating of 41pc nationally, rising to 79pc among Fine Gael supporters.
Mr Harris, who will be confirmed as Fine Gael leader today, is expected to tell party members he intends to focus on enterprise, equality of opportunity, integrity and security.
He will say he plans to prioritise supporting families, small businesses, law and order, education and making work pay.