Mood becoming more pessimistic, with 70 per cent of voters believing worst has yet to come, writes STEPHEN COLLINSPolitical Editor
A MAJORITY of voters believe that a new government would have no impact on the economic situation or would make it worse, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI opinion poll.
However, a substantial minority thinks that a change of government would improve the country’s economic situation.
Asked if they thought a change of Government would improve the economic situation or have no impact on it, 45 per cent said it would have no impact, 39 per cent said it would improve the economic situation, 6 per cent thought it would make things worse and 10 per cent had no opinion.
Unsurprisingly Fianna Fáil voters were easily the most sceptical about the impact of a new government on the economic situation with 61 per cent of them saying it would make no difference and 15 per cent saying it would make things worse.
Labour voters were easily the most optimistic in believing that a change of government would improve the economic situation with 55 per cent of them saying it would do so while 35 per cent though it would make no difference and just 2 per cent said it would be worse.
Fine Gael supporters were about half way between supporters of the other two parties with 46 per cent of them saying a change of government would improve things, 45 per cent saying it would not and 3 per cent saying things would be worse. Sinn Féin voters had a similar view to Fine Gael with 45 per cent saying things would improve, 43 per cent saying no difference and 1 per cent saying things would be worse.
Green Party supporters and Independent and Other party voters shared similar views with a majority believing a change of government would make no difference.
Asked if they thought the worst was over for the economy, 70 per cent said the worst had yet to come while just 22 per cent though the worst was over and 8 per cent had no opinion.
Fianna Fáil voters were more optimistic than supporters of other parties, but 54 per cent of them still thought the worst was yet to come.
Sinn Féin voters were the most pessimistic of all with 79 per cent believing the worst is to come. Among Fine Gael voters the figure was 76 per cent, among Labour voters it was 72 per cent and it was 66 per cent among Green Party voters.
The best-off AB voters were the most optimistic while the poorest DE category were the most pessimistic. In age terms the youngest 18-24 group were far more optimistic than their elders, while Dubliners were more optimistic than people in other parts of the country.
The mood of voters is now more pessimistic than it was earlier this year. When asked the same question in the last poll in June, 60 per cent said the worst was yet to come, while 31 per cent thought the worst was over and 9 per cent had no opinion.
Back in January, 63 per cent thought the worse was yet to come while 31 per cent thought it was over and 9 per cent had no opinion.
Voters were also asked if the Government should stick by its target of reducing the budget deficit by €3 billion, or doing more as suggested by Mr Lenihan.
A total of 54 per cent opted for the €3 billion target, while 26 per cent accepted that it should be more and 20 per cent had no opinion.
There was no significant difference between supporters of different parties on the issue but in class terms the best-off AB voters were much more inclined to back the higher target of more than €3 billion with 35 per cent backing it.
The strongest opposition to the higher target came from DE voters, but there was no great difference across the age categories.