Half of the Irish public want him to step down as as Fianna Fail leader
Taoiseach Micheal Martin arriving for a cabinet meeting at Government Buildings in Dublin.(Image: PA)
There’s one political party leader from Cork who appears to be well out in front of the rest in terms of popularity, according to a major new poll. Unfortunately for our Taoiseach, it’s not him.
Holly Cairns of the Social Democrats is the most popular of the leaders of the main political parties, according to a major new poll, she’s number one in an all-female top three, on 40% public approval rating, just ahead of Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald (37%) and Ivana Bacik of The Labour Party (33%).
That’s according to a new poll published earlier today by the Sunday Independent newspaper, which made for tough reading for Taoiseach Michael Martin. The Ireland Thinks survey found that half of the Irish public (49%) believe he should step down as Fianna Fáil leader.
There is some good news for the Cork South Central TD – support for him as Taoiseach has grown three percentage points to 36 per cent compared to last month. But the vast majority of voters blame him for the recent presidential election debacle for his party.
In September, Fianna Fáil’s candidate Jim Gavin sensationally pulled out of the race after it emerged he owed a former tenant over €3,000.
Some 68 per cent of those polled said they blame the Taoiseach for the party’s presidential mess, with 14 per cent pointing the finger at Mr Gavin himself and 5 per cent blaming his director of elections, Jack Chambers.
The publication of a report on the scandal that has rocked Fianna Fáil has been delayed after Mr Gavin’s legal representatives have asked to see it first, members of the parliamentary party were told in recent days.
However, overall support for Fianna Fáil is up by two points to 20 per cent.
This comes as support for Fine Gael is dwindling, with 70 per cent unhappy with Simon Harris’ appointment as Finance Minister. The party had its lowest level of support since January 2016. Some 17 per cent of pollsters back the party, five percentage points lower than last March’s poll.
Only 15 per cent supported the Tánaiste’s move from Foreign Affairs to Finance, with 70 per cent unhappy with the appointment. A further 15 per cent said they had no opinion on it.
However, among Fine Gael voters, 47 per cent supported his move. Mr Harris’ popularity as Tánaiste is also dwindling, with no improvement on his record low of 34 per cent last month.