CHARLIE HAUGHEY, of the outgoing opposition Fianna Fail Party seems set to form the next government in the south of Ireland. But how long he will be Fianna Fail's leader, and how long Fianna Fail will stay in office, are open questions.
Labour and respectively and independents seven seats. There was a 1.97 per cent swing to Fianna Fail, mainly at the expense of the right wing Labour Party, and in constituencies where anti-H Block candidates had polled well in the last election.
Ot these constituencies, only Bernadette McAliskey increased the Block candidates. sored by Peoples Demo cracy, Irish section of the Fourth international, she got 2,085 votes in the DUNNOTE Sensor stituency. over 500 more Block candidate. In other visional Sinn Fein stood in place of anti-H Block candidates the vote fell by 50 per cent.
Line main suronse In Haughey the election was the sucthe fight here we will con teSS democratic Sinn Fein tinue the fight. and we'll the workers Party. WID consolidating and won three seats compared building further on that one eight months ago. position the SFWP. Formal the around." ficial wing the Irish Republican over years. to the right on the national moved consistenty Certainly. Bernadette's campaign was a remarkEXTENT able success Literally the nundreds o peopie were involved, from a variety of ireland this resulted in its eclipse as a political force there was a steady stream of apparent success eatlets of SFWP manifestos which were HE SOUTH delivered to every house in candidates the constituency.
One handicap of the WITO the anti-imperialist movement will be a disap- campaign was a leanet bv the antiDelinent the move ment and its supporters.
HOwever not all they seem at first Clash For instance, although SFWP tripled its number of seats in the Dail (parliament), nationally it only increased its vote by 0.58 per cent. And, in con stituencies there was a direct clash between SFWP and anti imperialist imperialist vote was mar ginally better in Cavan Monaghan the Provisional Sinn Fein candidate received 3,974 first preference pared to 529 for SFWP. votes GOTH while in the two other con stituencies SFWP had nar row victories over didates of Republican Socialist ParNevertheless. will be disappointed with the votes of Provisional the IRSP. Ber nadette McAliskey and the other PD candidate Joe Harrington, who received 215 votes in Limerick East ed no signs of demoralisation went to every door in this constituency and WE SOME GE cleady and honestly to the people she said held the vote and we mov ed it torward, and i think we can particularly well in And having started abortion support choose. woman's Bernadette campaigning group SPUC which urged voters not to Bernadette because of her support for right TO This intervention may have lost Bernadette several hundred votes.
A further factor which restricted support was that many voters may have been worried that Berhaceues campaign was e short-term stunt. In that SOCCE HER CICEE OTO HISE to continue the fight in the Dublin North Central Considency will unopdoteory increase support for her More generally. the Irish TESSELS shows that many voters apathetic towards the mor parties, and that the right wing democracy preached une Labour Party has dwindling support. There remains a vacuum in Irish politics and the appeal of 6Bd socialist policies can only increase Ine coming months as the twin crisis of the economy and partition Tenan! unresolved. The Irish election has pro ved little and settled nothing.
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The election results gave no clear majority to any party. The final results gave Fianna Fail 81 seats, the coalition partners Fine Gael and
em last let, Success