DUBLIN – Irish voters on Friday look certain to oust their government in elections dominated by the collapse of the economy and a hated international bailout.
The widely expected defeat for the eurozone country’s traditional party of government, Fianna Fail, would make the Irish government the first to fall victim to the eurozone debt crisis. “They’re getting a good kicking, and they deserve it,” said Brendan Buckley, a 47-year-old civil servant, at a polling station in north Dublin. “I give them a lot of blame for what happened, as well as the international recession.
Their tactics and policies have been atrocious. They are getting their comeuppance now.” The main opposition Fine Gael party has ridden the wave of outrage to take a commanding 38-40 percent in the polls, compared to 15 percent for Fianna Fail. Fine Gael’s leader, 59-year-old former teacher Enda Kenny, is on course to replace Fianna Fail’s discredited Brian Cowen as the new Taoiseach, or prime minister, with a pledge to renegotiate the terms of Ireland’s international loans.
Polling booths opened at 7am (0700 GMT) with 3.1 million people eligible to vote, but the outcome will not become clear until Saturday. In November, Ireland was forced to go cap in hand to the European Union and International Monetary Fund for an 85-billion-euro ($115-billion) bailout after a debt crisis centred on the banks threatened to spiral out of control. It was the second eurozone nation after Greece to seek help and the deal is widely viewed as a humiliation here – particularly given that just a few years ago, Ireland’s roaring “Celtic Tiger” economy had been the envy of the world.
“It is absolutely appalling what has been happening. Our politics needs a radical change,” said Nino Besagni, 77, who voted for the leftist Labour party. Opinion polls suggest that Fine Gael will fail to win a majority in the 166-seat Dail, or lower house of parliament, and it could form a coalition with Labour, which has been polling at about 18 percent. Fine Gael could also ally with non-affiliated lawmakers, whose numbers are expected to rise as disillusioned voters reject the main parties. “They are all just in it for themselves,” said Carole, 52, who backed an independent candidate when she cast her vote.
Kenny, who voted on Friday in Mayo in western Ireland, has said his priority in taking office would be to “restore Ireland’s international reputation”. He has already taken steps to renegotiate the terms of the bailout, visiting Brussels and Berlin to discuss the “punitive” 5.8 percent interest rate on the loans and the cost of restructuring Ireland’s debt-ridden banks. Polls show that more than 80 percent of Irish people want the deal amended.
The EU is open to renegotiation, but Dublin is under pressure to cut its ultra-low 12.5 percent corporate tax rate in return – a rate that Kenny stressed this week was of “fundamental importance” to Ireland’s economy.
Meanwhile Fianna Fail is struggling to avoid a wipeout as commentators suggest the centrist party, which has been in power for 14 years, could win just 20 seats in the election, down from 77 in 2007. “Your Day of Revenge – Kick them in the ballots,” headlined the Irish Daily Star, while the Irish Sun said: “Downfail. It’s time to dump this rotten lot.”
The party is led by former foreign minister Micheal Martin, who took over in January after Cowen quit over his handling of the economic crisis. Cowen is not standing for re-election. Voter Jeff Buckley, 54, has abandoned Fianna Fail to back Fine Gael. “If this was Greece, I think people would be out on the streets burning the place down, but we’re more laid back here, unfortunately,” he said.
