Voting booths have just opened in 43 constituencies all over Ireland in an attempt to choose 165 representatives from 566 hopefuls to make up the next Irish government. Since 1932, Ireland’s largest political party, Fianna Fáil, has been the main government party for nearly 60 years in total and has been in power for all but 30 months in the last 24 years. This period of time coincided with the affluence of the Celtic Tiger, but also with its recent collapse. As a result, the party’s dominance in the opinion polls has also collapsed by almost two-thirds since the 2007 election. Fine Gael, historically the country’s second party, have benefitted the most, while Labour, Sinn Féin and Independent candidates have also seen promising increases in their support. What all this means is that Fine Gael will be the main party after the voting has been completed and will most likely form a coalition with Labour. For the first time in the nation’s history, the “Soldiers of Destiny” look like being relegated to third place. The party’s slump in popularity forced many of its members to jump ship before the election was called and will see many more lose their seats this weekend. This frightening scenario has seen at least one former government minister resort to desperate measures in order to hold onto his seat

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