File photo of Fine Gael leader Simon Harris speaking at a conference in Athlone, Central Ireland on March 24, 2024, after becoming the de facto prime minister-in-waiting. Harris took office after the sudden resignation of his predecessor, Leo Varadkar.
Paul Faith | AFP | Getty Images
Ireland's main opposition party, Sinn Féin, appears poised to win a majority of votes by a narrow margin in Friday's general election, but its main centre-right rivals are likely to have enough seats to govern once again, an exit poll showed. Others without him.
Opinion polls showed that the left-wing Sinn Fein party received 21.1%, the center-right Fine Gael party led by Prime Minister Simon Harris received 21.0%, and its coalition partner Fianna Fail received 19.5%.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fail pledged before the election to seek a coalition without Sinn Féin, just as they did after the 2020 general election when Sinn Féin also narrowly won the popular vote.
Opinion polls indicated that the three main parties were tied before the vote and that Ireland was heading towards a result largely similar to the last elections in 2020.
Harris called the election on the heels of a free €10.5 billion ($11 billion) budget that began pumping money into voters' pockets during the election campaign, a largesse made possible by billions of euros in tax revenue on foreign multinational corporations.
However, Fine Gael's bungled election campaign, which culminated last weekend in a viral clip of Harris walking away from an angry care worker, cost it its lead ahead of the election.
Government parties also faced widespread frustration during the election campaign over their inability to convert Europe's healthier public finances into better public services.
They have benefited from a decline in Sinn Féin support from 30 to 35% in opinion polls in 2022 and 2023, partly due to anger among the working-class base at its relatively liberal immigration policies.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are likely to need the support of at least one other smaller party to reach a majority. They currently govern with the Green Party.
