Sir, – In your opinion poll on potential coalitions after the election, you gave respondents five options: the return of the current coalition; the current coalition, but with the Green Party replaced by another small party; a Fianna Fáil coalition with Sinn Féin; a government led by Sinn Féin excluding both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael; and “none of these” (“Irish Times poll: Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael the most popular choice for new coalition”, News, November 26th).
Curiously, your poll gave no option for a coalition led by Fine Gael but excluding Fianna Fáil.
Why was this? It seems very odd to exclude this option given that Fine Gael is contesting this election as the lead party of government, and was until this week the most popular party in opinion polls.
The views of Fine Gael voters, and the Independent voters who the party is targeting, on this issue would have been very interesting. Instead, these respondents – 40 per cent of the electorate – were presented with a fait accompli that Fine Gael would only enter coalition alongside Fianna Fáil, a party whose participation in government at all is opposed by about a fifth of voters, according to your poll.
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Surely the decision to exclude this option significantly skewed the outcome of your poll on this question?
Or is it simply a sad reflection of the unacknowledged fact that the leadership of Fine Gael appear willing to go back into government with Fianna Fáil no matter what the price and no matter what the outcome of the election? – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
