What is especially interesting in this story is that the left bothered to get out there and work in the field. They have been making their case to the public following the economic implosion. In comparison, why is it that the hard right (the Teabaggers) surged in the US following the crisis? Surely much of it had to do with racism though the Democrats answer to the banking failure was a continuation of the Bush/Paulson policies. Did that deflate the left and energize the right? The Guardian:
The recession has been unkind to centre-left parties across much of Europe, but Ireland is poised to buck the trend. The Irish Labour party is anticipating record support in the general election on 25 February, which could propel it into government. This is due to a political shift that also looks likely to send a bloc of Trotskyist-aligned deputies into parliament.
Opinion polls give Labour about 24% – only nine points less than Fine Gael. A poll in the Irish Times found that Labour chief Eamon Gilmore is, at 26%, the most popular party leader.
Even in one of the most affluent parts of Ireland's eastern coast the left is enjoying a renaissance, thanks in part to two candidates born in 1968 – the year of global student revolution.
