A shock new opinion poll places Sinn Féin just 1% behind current main coalition partner Fine Gael and leads to increased speculation as to their possible place in the next government.
According to the latest Sunday Independent/Millward Brown poll, Fine Gael is down 4 at 25% while Sinn Féin is up 4 at 24%.
Fianna Fail are at 20 percent with Labour at 8 percent. The Green Party fell from 2% to 1%, while Independents and others are up two at 23%, figures show.
The change in leadership in the Labour Party is having a positive effect, TheJournal.ie reports, with support for the party up one point to 8% and a surge in approval for party leader Joan Burton.
Burton’s approval rating is now at 27%, whereas in the April survey her predecessor Eamon Gilmore had only a 16% approval rating.
Burton’s approval rating is now on a par with Irish prime minister Enda Kenny’s unchanged rating and Fianna Fail leader Michael Martin’s rating, which is up by one.
Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams has slipped. He is now down one at 25%.
According to the poll, 53% of voters believe Burton will change the government’s austerity policies and 52% believe Labour should pull out of government if austerity is not relaxed.
Figures do not include “don’t knows” which make up 31% of the poll.
Here is a recap of the poll results:
- Fine Gael – 25% (down four)
- Labour – 7% (up one)
- Fianna Fáil – 20% (down two)
- Sinn Féin – 24% (up four)
- Green Party – 1% (down one)
- Others – 23% (up two)
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