|
The Irish general election of 2011 took place on Friday 25 February to elect 165 Teachtaí Dála〔 across 43 constituencies to Dáil Éireann, the lower house of Ireland's parliament, the Oireachtas. The Dáil was dissolved and the general election called by President Mary McAleese on 1 February, at the request of Taoiseach Brian Cowen. The electorate was given the task of choosing the members of the 31st Dáil, who met on 9 March 2011 to nominate a Taoiseach and ratify the ministers of the Government of the 31st Dáil. Cowen had previously announced on 20 January that the election would be held on 11 March, and that after the 2011 budget had been passed he would seek a dissolution of the 30th Dáil by the President. However, the Green Party, the junior party in coalition government with Cowen's Fianna Fáil, withdrew from government on 23 January, stating that they would support only a truncated finance bill from the opposition benches in order to force an earlier election.〔 On 24 January, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, Jnr reached an agreement with the opposition in Dáil Éireann to complete all stages of passing the finance bill, in both houses of the Oireachtas, by 29 January—following which the Dáil was to be dissolved immediately. Constitutionally, an election must be held within 30 days after a Dáil dissolution. Following the collapse of the coalition, the then minority governing party, Fianna Fáil, sought to minimise its losses following historically low poll ratings in the wake of the Irish financial crisis. Fine Gael sought to gain a dominant position in Irish politics after poor results in the 2000s, and to replace Fianna Fáil for the first time since 1927 as the largest party in Dáil Éireann. The Labour Party hoped to make gains from both sides, and was widely expected to become the second largest party and to enter into coalition government with Fine Gael; its highest ambition at the start of the campaign, buoyed by record poll ratings in preceding months, was to become the leading partner in government for the first time in the party's 99-year history. The Green Party, having been in coalition with Fianna Fáil during the Government of the 30th Dáil, faced stiff competition to retain its seats and was expected to lose at least four of its six seats. Sinn Féin was expected to make gains, encouraged by a by-election victory in November 2010 and by opinion polls which placed it ahead of Fianna Fáil. Some other left wing groups, including the Socialist Party, the People Before Profit Alliance and the Workers and Unemployed Action Group, contested the general election under a joint banner, the United Left Alliance. Fianna Fáil was swept from power in the worst defeat of a sitting government since the formation of the Irish state in 1922. Fianna Fáil lost more than half of its first-preference vote from 2007 and garnered only 20 seats. It is the third-largest party in the 31st Dáil–the first time since the September 1927 election that it is not the largest party in the chamber. ''The Irish Times'', Ireland's newspaper of record, described Fianna Fáil's meltdown as "defeat on a historic scale." Fine Gael won a record 76 seats to become the largest party in the Dáil for the first time in its 78-year history, while the Labour Party became the second largest party and Sinn Féin also increased its number of seats. Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny became Taoiseach, in a coalition with Labour. ==Background== Following the bailout of Irish banks and the deteriorating level of state debt that led to the Irish financial crisis, the Irish government agreed to a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund amid fears of a wider Eurozone crisis. The European Financial Stability Facility then offered the government a multi-billion euro deal for its new debt burden. Such a move was widely condemned in Ireland, with ''The Irish Times'' criticising Fianna Fáil that despite its "primary aims () the commitment 'to maintain the status of Ireland as a sovereign State'...The Republican Party’s ideals are in tatters now." Following the acceptance of the deal on 21 November 2010, the Green Party leader John Gormley called for the Taoiseach to fix a date for a general election in the second half of January 2011,〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title= Green Party calls for New Year election )〕 however, he added that the party would support the coalition for the "coming weeks and months." The Labour Party and Fine Gael called for an immediate election in order to seek "political certainty."〔 On 22 November 2010, Taoiseach Brian Cowen indicated that the election would take place in early 2011 after the 2011 budgetary process (a prerequisite to the bailout) had been completed. There were fears that calling the election could trigger another credit downgrade. On 16 January Cowen announced his decision to stay on as Taoiseach and to lead Fianna Fáil into the general election. On 18 January he called for and won a vote of confidence within the party (which had been precipitated by revelations of two previously undisclosed meetings with Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick) with a majority of the 71 Fianna Fáil deputies supporting him. Despite saying he would offer Cowen "full support", Foreign Minister Micheál Martin resigned. However, following criticism within his party after his failed attempt to carry out a reshuffle of Fianna Fáil ministers, Cowen announced his resignation as leader of the party on 22 January. He confirmed he would remain as Taoiseach until after the election. The key dates were: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Irish general election, 2011」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|