01/10/2010

Lenihan Tops Irish Leader Poll

A poll has revealed that the public favour a change of Taoiseach with the front runner being Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.

According to the Irish Times poll this morning, the current Minister for Finance is favoured by the public to replace Brian Cowen, leading his nearest rival, Michéal Martin, by 21 percentage points.

The poll suggests 61% of the public want to see Brian Cowen step down, while some 57% would like to see an immediate election.

However, the opinion sway for a leadership change could be largely academic as another poll earlier this week revealed Labour is significantly ahead of both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, while the party's leader Eamon Gilmore is also the public's favourite.

Today's Ipsos MRBI poll, also found the over-65s were most supportive of Mr Cowen's leadership, while the 18 to 24-year-olds the most negative.

Among Fianna Fail supporters Mr Lenihan's lead is pronounced, with 50% of his party's voters backing him. In class terms he is also the strongest among the wealthier voters and farmers.

The poll, conducted on Monday and Tuesday of this week comes on the heel of the embarrassing interview Mr Cowen gave on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, during which it is believed he was hungover. Mr Cowen was also the subject of some international disparagement, being the butt of a joke by Late Show host Jay Leno, who called him a "drunken moron".

(DW/BMcC)

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