Politicians must pull together
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The economic crisis has dramatically changed the political landscape. A massive 86pc of the population are dissatisfied with the way the Government is running the country and Fianna Fail support has shrunk to 25pc, way below the 30pc which would have been considered the party's rock solid 'core' vote before the economic downturn.
The awful scenario presented to Fianna Fail will give the Taoiseach no comfort at all as he faces into his party's ard fheis. He has a satisfaction rating of just 21pc.
While Fine Gael shows 30pc support, a small increase on its general election showing, the party leader Enda Kenny's satisfaction rating is just 29pc, as against 52pc for Eamon Gilmore. The state of the economy has clearly shaped opinion in this Irish Independent/ Millward Brown/IMS poll, but only 21pc of those questioned would trust Enda Kenny to manage the economy, while 26pc trust Brian Cowen.
The poll figure for Labour support is remarkable. It is clearly another symptom of the financial crisis. We have seen the fury of public servants who feel they have been unfairly targeted with the pension levy. Many of those who might have been inclined to vote Fianna Fail in better times have turned to Labour. It is difficult to believe that any party or its leader -- even Eamon Gilmore -- could draw much satisfaction from results that reflect the fears of a disheartened people.
Nine out of 10 people are unhappy about the way the economic crisis is being handled, yet there is no apparent confidence that an alternative would do better. It is clearly time for all sides in the Oireachtas to lay aside party politics and work together for the good of the country, as a concerned Garret FitzGerald suggested on radio on Wednesday.
This not to say that the opposition parties should sit on their hands and keep their mouths shut, rather that they act positively in the national interest.
They ought to be spurring the Government on to produce a detailed plan, spelling out exactly what we are going to do about savings, taxation and borrowings for the next three years, starting with a fresh Budget.
So far they have shown even less appetite than the Government for the far tougher measures that are required.
