1997 Irish general election

The 1997 Irish general election to the 28th Dáil was held on Friday, 6 June, following the dissolution of the 27th Dáil on 15 May by President Mary Robinson, on the request of Taoiseach John Bruton. The general election took place in 41 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 166 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas, under a revision in the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1995.

The 28th Dáil met at Leinster House on 26 June to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland. Bertie Ahern was appointed Taoiseach, forming the 25th Government of Ireland, a minority coalition government of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.

Overview

The 1997 general election saw the public offered a choice of two possible coalitions. The existing government was a coalition of Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Democratic Left – called the Rainbow Coalition.

Campaign

The outgoing Rainbow parties campaigned to re-elect the coalition and thus emphasized the working relationship that they had developed, running with the slogan 'Partnership That Works'. They claimed credit for a booming economy, improving social services and reforms such as the introduction of divorce. Despite this united front, each party fought its own campaign.

Fine Gael ran as a law and order party, drawing attention to the anti-crime policies it had put in place. Labour emphasised the number of campaign pledges it had managed to implement not only as part of the Rainbow government, but also during its coalition with Fianna Fail.

Fianna Fáil under Bertie Ahern had been restructuring itself after its turbulent period under Charles Haughey and Albert Reynolds. The party's central office gained control of candidate selection and modernised its campaigning strategy, especially concerning vote management and controlling transfers under Ireland's PR electoral system. In addition, the bitter internal feuding that had dogged the party for decades was ended by Ahern's more unifying style of leadership. This leadership also allowed Fianna Fáil to run a very energetic campaign that emphasised Ahern's relative youth and enthusiasm, which distanced the party from scandals that had beset the party.

Despite entering the election with polls suggesting they would overtake Labour as the third biggest party, and with Mary Harney as the most popular party leader, the Progressive Democrats struggled. Initially, it ran a presidential-style campaign that emphasized Harney. However, entering a pact with a resurgent Fianna Fáil meant it struggled to assert itself. In response, the PDs hastily published a manifesto — a move that backfired as it controversially called for single parent benefit to be cut in order to encourage single mothers to live with their parents. This drew fire from Pronsias De Rossa, who claimed Harney did "not have a bull's notion about social welfare".Archived a
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Opinion polls

Results

The outgoing Ceann Comhairle retired at this election. Independents include Independent Fianna Fáil (11,607 votes, 1 seat).

Voting summary

Seats summary

Although Fine Gael gained seats, it crossed the Dáil chamber to the Opposition benches. Fianna Fáil also increased its representation, but the Progressive Democrats had a disastrous election, maintaining its share of the vote, but winning only four seats compared to ten at the previous election, losing seats thought safe such as Cork North-Central and Dún Laoghaire.

The Green Party won a second seat, with John Gormley elected in Dublin South-East. He was elected by just over 30 votes after a recount lasting four days saw Progressive Democrat Michael McDowell defeated.

The main feature of the election, however, was the collapse of the Labour Party vote. Not only did it lose seats it had picked up in the 1992 general election, when its vote was at an all-time high – such as in Clare and Laois–Offaly – but it also lost reasonably safe seats, such as in Dublin North, Dublin Central and Cork South-Central. Dick Spring would retire as leader of the Labour Party later that year, after further disappointment in the presidential election.

Democratic Left also suffered, losing its two gains made in by-elections during the 27th Dáil. Sinn Féin won its first Dáil seat since 1957, with the party winning a seat in the Cavan–Monaghan constituency with the election of Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, and taking seats for the first time since 1922. It also narrowly missed a seat in Kerry North. The Socialist Party, a Trotskyist party which consisted of former members of the Labour Party expelled in 1989, won its first seat in the Dublin West constituency.

Government formation

Following the election, none of the major parties had a clear majority. Negotiations resulted in a Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats coalition taking office. Four Independent Teachta Dála (TDs) also supported the government ensuring a working majority. Bertie Ahern became the Taoiseach while Mary Harney of the Progressive Democrats became Tánaiste.

Dáil membership changes

The following changes took place as a result of the election:
*17 outgoing TDs retired, including the Ceann Comhairle, Seán Treacy
*149 TDs stood for re-election
**121 were re-elected
**28 failed to be re-elected
*45 successor TDs were elected
**32 were elected for the first time
**13 had previously been TDs
*There were 6 successor female TDs, replacing 9 outgoing, decreasing the total number by 3 to 20
*There were changes in 34 of the 41 constituencies contested

Outgoing TDs are listed in the constituency they contested in the election. For some, such as Kildare North, this differs from the constituency they represented in the outgoing Dáil. Where more than one change took place in a constituency the concept of successor is an approximation for presentation only.

See also

*Members of the 21st Seanad

Notes

References

Further reading

*

External links

1997 election: Party leaders' debate
RTÉ archives
Fianna Fail Election Manifesto 1997 Irish general election

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish General Election, 1997
General election, 1997
1997 in Irish politics
1997
28th Dáil
June 1997 events in Europe