Chronicle of a death foretold? understanding the decline of fine gael

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6074853
AutoresEoin O''Malley (0000-0002-9548-5666), Eoin O'Malley, Matthew Kerby (0000-0001-7955-1021)
Año2004
Volumen19
Número1
Páginas39-58
Fecha de publicación2004-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaIrish Political Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0790-7184 • E-ISSN: 1743-9078
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1356347042000269729
OpenAlexW1979910440
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas13
Referencias citadas9

Since its highpoint in the early 1980s, when under Garret FitzGerald, Fine Gael received almost 40 per cent of the first preference vote and took the party to within five seats of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael's electoral support has declined significantly and steadily to a stage where in 2002 they received little over 20 per cent of the vote. We examine some hypothesised causes of this decline, including the effect of the arrival of the PDs, and Ireland's new coalition politics since 1989. We adapt Peter Mair's hypothesis that ‘coalitionability’ would strengthen Fianna Fáil, to argue that it has also caused the decline of Fine Gael by making the party less relevant to voters who wish to influence the formation of a government. This had the effect of allowing parties such as the PDs to continue to take support from Fine Gael. We offer empirical evidence to support this claim

Development economics · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Irish and British Studies · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Law