Poll suggests big swing in June election

The Dublin government faces the loss of between 50 and 100 local
council seats according to a Sunday newspaper poll, with the
seats being snapped up by Sinn Fein and other left-wing parties.

Nominations closed today for the European and local elections on
June 11th.

The latest Red C poll for the Sunday Business Post shows little
change from the last such poll in March, but confirms the
continuing decline in the core support of the two right-wing
parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

The proportion of the population which automatically backs
Bertie Ahern's governing Fianna Fail party has fallen from 25
per cent in March to 22 per cent last week.

Constituency-specific figures for the European elections show
that Fianna Fail support stands at 24 per cent in Dublin, a
sharp decline since the March poll.

On today's poll, Labour, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein are all on 16
per cent for the Euro election, while the Greens are on 14 per
cent. All are in with a chance for the last three seats in what
could prove an extremely tight contest.

Outside of the European elections, Sinn Fein and the Greens look
set to pick up seats, with Sinn Fein doing particularly well in
Dublin. Despite appearing to suffer a small decline in its
support in the latest poll, it is expected to at least double
its numbers of council seats overall.



POLL RESULTS


European elections (1999 Election results in brackets)

Fianna Fail 32% (39%)
Fine Gael 21% (25%)
Labour 12% (9%)
Sinn Fein 9% (6%)
Green Party 10% (7%)
Others 16% (16%)


Local elections (1999 Election results in brackets)

Fianna Fail 32% (40%)
Fine Gael 22% (30%)
Labour 12% (10%)
Sinn Fein 11% (3%)
PD 4% (2%)
Green Party 7% (2%)
Others 12% (13%)