Fianna Fáil isn’t finished

FORTH HAS received analysis of an internal focus group report commissioned by an opposition party. Unsuprisingly, it bears up forth‘s analysis: the government may be widely disliked but the empty un-politics of the opposition are not popular either. A full analysis is linked below, but for now, here is a breakdown of the basic points:
– When asked if the country is headed in the right or wrong direction, people overwhelmingly think it is going in the wrong direction
– When asked if they could name two things that Fine Gael and Labour would and could do differently, almost no-one could. Nama, the ‘bad bank’ plan, was the only major thing they identified, and the group was split on that, suggesting that anger at Nama will only get Fine Gael and Labour so far
– When asked if they could name things that FG and Labour agree on. Nama was the only issue came to mind
– Asked which party would be most likely to lower taxes, the group split between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil
– When reminded that Fine Gael would be forced into coalition with Labour, all of the voters who said that they rated taxes as an important issue and were going to vote Fine Gael said that this would make them less likely to do so
– Asked who was the most capable leader, all but two of the 20-strong group said Gilmore
– Asked who would make a better Taoiseach, between Cowen and Kenny, Cowen won 14-6
– Asked who would have more power in a future Fine Gael/Labour coalition government, 15 of 20 said Labour
– The group was read a list of issues that Fine Gael and Labour disagree on and asked whether they thought that they could be sure about what an Fine Gael/Labour government would do. After hearing the list, all but one in the group said they could not.
– By contrast, they were then asked if they thought Fianna Fáil had a plan to fix the economy, even if they personally disagreed with it. 14 out of 20 said ‘Yes’.
– Most of the group agreed that trade unions would have more power under the Fine Gael/Labour option than under the current Fianna Fáil administration
– Most of the group agreed that Enda Kenny would not be as strong in confronting the unions as Brian Cowen.
– After the session, people were asked if the discussion had made them more or less likely to vote for FG and Labour. 11 said less likely, 3 said more likely, and 6 said about the same.

For an analysis of the focus group results, click here

Note: Some discussion of this story on politics.ie is suggesting it predicts Fianna Fáil will win the next general election – it doesn’t. forth‘s money is still on a Fine Gael/Labour coalition – forth‘s argument is that it doesn’t matter who wins, none of the parties have any real ideas.