A majority of voters, excluding the "don't knows", does not want Labour to go into coalition with Fianna Fáil if there is a hung Dáil - but they believe that will happen if the situation arises, according to the Irish TimesTNS mrbi poll. Stephen Collins, Political Editor, reports.
Forty-one per cent of those polled said they would not like to see such a coalition in the event of a hung Dáil, 32 per cent said they would, and 27 per cent had no opinion. Among Labour supporters, though, a majority preferred a deal with Fianna Fáil in the event of a hung Dáil: 51 per cent said party leader Pat Rabbitte should opt for a coalition in such circumstances, while 35 per cent opposed such a move. Supporters of all other parties, including Fianna Fáil, were opposed.
However, when asked if they believed Mr Rabbitte would enter government with Fianna Fáil if there was a hung Dáil, a majority said yes, by a 44-28 per cent margin. Labour voters were more inclined than supporters of other parties to believe Mr Rabbitte will do a deal with Fianna Fáil in this situation.
When all respondents were asked which of the three possible coalitions they would like to see forming the next government, 32 per cent opted for Fianna Fáil and the PDs, 29 per cent chose Fine Gael and Labour, with possible support from the Greens, while 13 per cent went for the Fianna Fáil-Labour option.
Labour voters preferred coalition with Fine Gael rather than Fianna Fáil by a margin of 53 per cent to 36 per cent. Fianna Fáil supporters were very unenthusiastic about a coalition with Labour, with 69 per cent opting for another arrangement with the PDs as against 12 per cent who favoured a deal with Labour. Asked which of the three possible coalition options was most likely to form the next government the strong view of the voters was that Fianna Fáil and the PDs will win another term. Forty-five per cent expect the current coalition to be re-elected, compared to 16 per cent who believe Fine Gael and Labour, with the possible support of the Greens, will be in power, while 11 per cent thought Fianna Fáil and Labour would emerge.
The poll was conducted last Monday and Tuesday among a representative sample of 1,000 voters at 100 sampling points in all 43 Dáil constituencies.
Asked if Taoiseach Bertie Ahern should accept support from Sinn Féin to form a government, 44 per cent said no, while 34 per cent said yes. Among Sinn Féin supporters, 85 per cent said Mr Ahern should accept support but the supporters of all other parties said he should not. Fine Gael voters were the most hostile of any party to the notion of a government depending on Sinn Féin while Fianna Fáil and Green Party voters were the most relaxed about the prospect.
However, when asked if they believed Mr Ahern when he said he would not be dependent on the votes of Sinn Féin to form a government, 46 per cent of voters said no, while 31 per cent said they did. Only Fianna Fáil supporters believed Mr Ahern, with those from all other parties not accepting that he would hold to his stated position.