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DUBLIN (Reuters) – Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris’ Fine Gael party holds a six-point lead over both its main coalition partner Fianna Fail and the main opposition party Sinn Fein, the first opinion poll of the general election campaign showed on Friday.
Fine Gael led the Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll on 25%, two points lower that the last Irish Times poll in September while fellow centre-right Fianna Fail remained on 19% alongside left wing Sinn Fein, whose support fell by one point.
The main movers ahead of the Nov. 29 election were Ireland’s already large group of independent candidates, who rose four points to 20%. The survey was conducted earlier this week following the long trailed start of the campaign last Friday.
Sinn Fein, who had a commanding opinion poll lead until earlier this year, need to finish well ahead of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to cut off their rivals’ path to re-election, since both have pledged to govern together again without it.
Friday’s survey suggests the two parties, former rivals who have between them been part of every government for a century, could again reach a majority with current junior partners the Greens, another small party or a group of independents.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Sarah Young)