The leader of the Fianna Fail party Micheál Martin has come under severe pressure this week as he is facing a revolt from within the party if he fails to win the upcoming Carlow Kilkenny by-election.
The news comes as several TDs have recently insisted that Mr Martin must obtain another Dáil seat for Fianna Fáil in order to regain the party’s confidence in his leadership. The upcoming task has become more difficult as the latest opinion polls show that the party has failed to gain any support from voters. The recent poll showed that voter confidence for the party has drastically fallen to just 17% the same percentage they received in the hugely unsuccessful 2011 General Election campaign. The recent poll found that support for Fianna Fáil was extremely low in the Dublin area where the party currently has no TDs. According to the survey Mr Martin’s own personal satisfaction rating also drastically dropped to just 24%, which currently makes him the country’s least popular party leader.
The current Fianna Fail party members believe that public confidence is greatly plummeting, therefore it is hugely imperative that the party wins the upcoming by-election in Carlow-Kilkenny on May 22nd. One Fianna Fail backbencher claims that the party must address the question of whether or not Mr Martin can continue as party leader if they fail to win the upcoming by-election. He said :”There is no appetite for a change of leadership. But if we cannot show some traction before the summer, the issue will have to be broached,”.
As it stands Mr Martin has failed to win any of the six previous by-elections held and in three cases lost out to Government candidates.