The accelerating fall in Sinn Féin support

Scum Féin is what they should be rebranded

You've been in Switzerland a long time is my understanding.

The refugee issue here is a real concern for people. It has nothing to do with blame and scapegoating - hence why people won't vote for the far right (including me).

People want an existing party, whether that is FG or SF, to handle the immigration and refugees issue properly.

It has nothing to do, from the general public's point of view, with the populist rabble-rousing of Trump, Brexit etc. You are the one who is confusing the situation.

Harris and FG have already started to recognise this in fact and pivoted their rhetoric and policy somewhat (though perhaps they are only feigning for votes?) but probably need to go further.

Only a complacent person would think that just the establishment parties not losing to the most outlier fringe-elements is a stamp of approval to just continue piling in masses of people with little care for the details.

O Broin is regarded as a classic useful idiot within the top echelons of SF. In truth, so is McDonald. These people are pushed forward to fulfil and electoral function in the South, i.e. soften the image of the party and make them more credible from a policy/ social perspective. That makes them 'the smartest people on the room' within SF circles, which in no way makes them the qualified for positions where being actually smart counts.

There have been numerous of this type tried by SF Young, idealistic, comic book republicans that are either very opportunistic or very naive. Forums like this are full of them and they dont even realise it. Tragic in a way.

The party would love to be in a position to run a 'real' republican like Padraig McLochlainn as nominal leader but are afraid ge won't wash in Dublin.

The softy SF types like OBroin will never wield any real power in the party however, because they have never got their hands dirty. You need the stripes, the years, the bodies. OBroin could have conceivably been seen as an heir to McDonald, but the big fact is that a catastrophic failure to covince people on housing will weaken his case. Either way, leader could change but leadership will stay the same.

Brian Gillen, Spike Murray, Martin Ferris, Eddie Copeland, Gerry Adams, Tom Murphy, Tom McMahon. It doesnt matter if its OBroin or MLMD on the poster, you are voting for these dudes anyway.

Why would low turnout favour established parties?

Have you not seen Sinn Fein on immigration? like every topic they are flip flopping alll over the place. Not sure why anyone would give them credit for that

It's like every topic, they flip flop around like a fish out of water

As another poster said in a different thread, even in these local elections we've seen a significant increase in Independents - they are now at 19%, not far off FFG.

Political re-alignments take time, but if some supporters of SF have now rejected SF over immigration it isn't clear where those votes will end up exactly but the uncertainty over that also doesn't mean that the immigration issue has gone away definitively.

So in other words you think the low turn out was based on age :-)

Some real noise been posted across the internet since it was figured that SF wasn't having the predicted win's but that has to be one of the best

In reality the people who are doing just fine have little inclination to bother going to vote than the vocal group who have been shouting for years how they want to vote XYZ out.

Of course it hasn't gone away, neither have the other issues that have been spoken about but these are local elections. Nobody called to my house telling me what they would do about immigration and I wouldn't have expected them to.

All the posters taken down in our area apart from a new independents and the Sinn Fein posters. All other main parties out quickly to remove the eye sores and get rid of them

Sinn Fein it seems taking a lot longer to remove them.

When do they need to be removed for?

Debatable. And thats DCC alone.

I think, despite some problems that still exist, people in the main feel the country is in a better position than it was 12 -18 months ago. People have a tendency to drift away from mainstream parties when they are disgruntled. The idea of change seems appealing, but that appeal has waned.

Sinn Fein didn't help their cause by trying to be all things to all men . People see through it as the gunk it is.

I am not a Fine Gael supporter,but i think Simon Harris has played a blinder, he has stolen the thunder of both the left and far right since he got elected.He also has likely won back disaffected Fine Gael Voters. There was a poster a while back who claimed he rescinded his membership of Fine Gael after 30 plus years as he had become disillusioned with Fine Gael under Leo. I wonder has he changed his mind Now. Leo was smart to get out when he did. It has proven decisive for Fine Gael too.

SF, like so much of the modern left have a position on migration more free market than Ronald Reagan . It makes a mockery of every policy they have, makes them unworkable.

Carefully managed immigration is at its heart , left wing economics.

It is the approach being taken now across much of the Nordics and in Europe.

SF gave the working class 2 fingers and called it solidarity.

Much of the left today is very middle class and insulated. That class divide is a growing problem for the left in many places.

Good post

Indeed. Leo leaving provided the opportunity for Harris to move a little more to the centre right, with enough time to gain momentum before the GE and win back votes for the party.

He is certainly on track and a November GE looks likley.

FFG govt to continue for the next term, as has always been the case. Now, more likley than ever.

Repeating yourself doesn't make it anymore true.

Carers get a respite payment every year. It's so they can get a break, respite you might call it, from having to be a carer 24/7. It doesn't just get paid at elections.