The left-wing Irish party Sinn Féin on Sunday tied for the top spot in national polls ahead of elections on February 8 that will determine which political party will lead the country going forward.
“People want change,” the party tweeted Sunday. “Sinn Féin can bring that change.”
The Business Post/Red C poll results placed Sinn Féin alongside Fianna Fáil with each party holding 24% support from the electorate. Ruling party Fine Gael came in third with 21%. All three are within the margin of error.
It’s the first time Sinn Féin has been at the top of Red C election polling and the first time it has edged out Fine Gael. Though Sinn Féin has been a major factor in Irish politics for its incompromising stance on reunification with Northern Ireland and its ties to paramilitary Irish liberation group the Irish Republican Army, the party has traditionally struggled to convince voters to allow it to lead the country.
That may be at an end with Sunday’s poll. Voters appear ready to end the historical power swapping between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael that has made Ireland effectively have a two-party system of governance for nearly a century since achieving independence from Britain.
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