Fianna Fail could be heading for a second term in Government with the Taoiseach Mr Bertie Ahern commanding huge public support, an opinion poll showed today.
But the IMS poll, for the
Irish Independent
, the Progressive Democrats were doomed in the next election.
Only 27 per cent of people questioned said they thought the Government would be returned as it currently existed, with the PDs as part of the coalition.
The survey, conducted on December 18th, found 43 per cent of committed voters backed Fianna Fail a four point gain for the party since May.
But it brought a bitter blow for the main opposition party Fine Gael, which slumped to a new low of just 15 per cent among committed voters.
The new party leader Mr Michael Noonan appeared to have made little impact with only 32 per cent of people satisfied with him and a further 30 per cent reserving judgment.
The Labour party did not fare well either, with the party having 9 per cent of the committed vote and a satisfaction rating of 40 per cent for its leader Mr Ruairi Quinn.
However, the election result is still far from close enough to call as 20 per cent of those surveyed also said they did not yet know how they would vote.
The survey also found the coalition Government's satisfaction rating dropped by four points to 60 per cent, since the last poll in September.
Mr Ahern remained the most popular political leader with a 69 per cent satisfaction rating.
Sinn Fein President Mr Gerry Adams lost four points in his satisfaction rating which stood at 59 per cent and his party had an unchanged 4 per cent backing from committed voters.
Some 1,068 people were questioned in the Irish Marketing Surveys poll, which was conducted at 100 centres across the Republic.
PA