The campaign for the 28th Dail has not been characterised by great dividing passions. An electorate which senses a rising tide of prosperity feels there is no profound ideological choice to be made as in the United Kingdom or in France. The two alternative Taoisigh evoke neither adulation nor antipathy in the same degree as certain of their predecessors.
But the Government which is formed after this election will have the task of managing Ireland as it has not been before. It will have to secure and build upon our new found prosperity. And it will have to steer the State through momentous decisions especially in regard to Europe and the North.
Along with these it will face a complexity of social challenges. Great inequalities of wealth and opportunity exist. Unacceptable shortcomings still characterise our health, educational and social services. A coherent policy on criminal justice has yet to be formulated. Our environment continues to deteriorate. Above all there is the cycle of deprivation which traps a significant proportion of our population in poverty.
The poll indications to date have been that the outcome will be a Fianna Fail led coalition with the Progressive Democrats. But the Rainbow Coalition is entitled to feel more confident after Mr Bruton's strong performance in last night's TV debate. Yet there remains a bloc of floating voters whose intentions even yet remain to be determined. Many seats will be decided on the last transfers. It would be foolish to rule out other possible combinations.
The single strongest argument which has been made to the electorate is the stability and the general - though far from universal - competence of the Rainbow. It has shown that it can work together while sustaining the framework for consensus among the social partners. If there is a wholly convincing argument for a change of Government it has not been presented. Certainly, the last minute attempt by Fianna Fail and the PDs to buy the electorate hardly inspires confidence. It is redolent of the disastrous auction politics of twenty years ago.
That said, Fianna Fail has shown itself resurgent over the course of the campaign. The electorate could be well served by a strong administration under Bertie Ahern. Indeed, he would be viewed by many as a preferable Taoiseach to John Bruton whose stock - notwithstanding his TV performance last night remains somewhat tainted by the Lowry affair, by his evidence to the Dublin Castle inquiries and by tendencies to fudge.
The principal argument against Fianna Fail is its commitment to alliance with the Progressive Democrats, the desirability of whose influence in Government at this time must be doubtful. Outdated neoThatcherism, clothed in the political vocabulary of the 1980s, has little relevance in the Ireland of the millennium. This society must eschew inclinations which, however unintentionally, tend to being divisive and retributive.
Fianna Fail avers it has forced the PDs to a climb down on policies which had sent tremors through the campaign. The PDs obligingly went silent but the voter must ask whether such acquiescence would continue in government. They are, by and large, people of principle and commitment who will not readily relinquish their convictions.
The worst scenario following tomorrow's poll would be a Dail hung between the two major blocs with a variety of independents, possibly including Sinn Fein, holding the balance. Every voter has the duty to consider this in marking the ballot paper and must look to the national picture, not just local choices. It would be unforgivable if this newly prosperous State, faced with the most far reaching choices, were to paralyse its decision makers by putting them in thrall to very small minorities. In particular it would be unforgivable to confer any balancing influence upon Sinn Fein.
Vote for stability and competence. Vote for whoever is most likely to form a Government with a commitment to justice and equality. Vote for whoever has the strength to take hard decisions and with the courage to find common ground in compromise.