ANALYSIS/FF Euro campaign: Fianna Fail knows domestic matters will be to the fore on June 11th, writes Mark Brennock
While the Taoiseach's speech and Fianna Fáil's manifesto concentrated entirely on European issues, domestic matters kept intruding at yesterday's launch of the party's European campaign.Opinion polls and reports from canvassing suggest that Fianna Fáil may well suffer in the June 11th elections because of the continuing public belief that the party broke election promises in the 2002 general election campaign. The Taoiseach strongly rejected this yesterday, making clear his belief that the media had played a major role in fomenting this belief, and that the press did not give adequate coverage to the Government's defence.
The party faces an almost impossible task in seeking to defend the six European Parliament seats it won in 1999. The number of seats elected by the State has been reduced from 15 to 13. It is almost inevitable that Fianna Fáil will lose one seat in the reduced three-seat East constituency, and it faces a fight to hold its two seats in the reduced three-seat South constituency.
The party's manifesto outlines views on the European economy, social justice, agriculture, asylum and immigration, fisheries and forestry and international relations. Unsurprisingly there is little that varies from well-established Government positions on these issues, and little that would arouse strong disagreement from other mainstream parties.
Mr Ahern said his party's aims for the parliament in the next term are protecting and building employment, directing funding towards communities, increasing co-operation against international crime and protecting the interests of Irish farming.
A senior party figure at yesterday's campaign launch conceded that not many voters will make their decision on June 11th based on European issues. While other parties maintain that they have found a strong hostility to Fianna Fáil while canvassing, this figure said that what they found was an electorate that was apathetic.
The party currently holds six of the 15 European Parliament seats, two in each of Leinster and Munster, and one in each of Dublin and Connacht Ulster. However, with the new East and South constituencies (formerly Leinster and Munster) now reduced from four to three seats each, the party will find it difficult to hold its two in South and will not win two in Leinster.
In South, outgoing MEP Brian Crowley is the party's front-runner, with the other outgoing MEP, Gerard Collins, fighting to retain his seat, aided somewhat by the decision of Pat Cox not to run again. In East, the two outgoing MEPs, Jim Fitzsimons and Liam Hyland, are retiring. Minister of State Liam Aylward appears to be the front-runner based in the southern end of the constituency, with parliamentary party chairman Séamus Kirk in the northern end. The party looks certain to lose a seat here.
In Dublin, where there is just one party seat, Lord Mayor Royston Brady's knack of getting publicity is causing the expected lead candidate, former Minister of State Eoin Ryan, some concern. Finally, Connacht Ulster is likely to produce just one seat for the party, although whether that will be Minister of State Jim McDaid or the sitting MEP Seán Ó Neachtain is unclear.
Mr McDaid was expected to be the leading party candidate, but the publicity surrounding the party's unsuccessful attempt to keep Mr Ó Neachtain off the ticket, in favour of Minister of State Frank Fahey, has ensured the hitherto relatively unknown Connemara man has a high profile.