Gerard Howlin

I was saying like, you know, what are you saying to people when they talk about dissatisfaction with government?

And maybe they're looking at maybe right wing candidates like Gerry Hutch or Malachy Steenson in Dublin Central.

And he's like, well, I'm trying to persuade them to come our way.

And so there's that persuasion or that vote up for grabs.

You talk about the middle class vote, but there's a broad dissatisfaction with government vote that is fundamental.

fracturing in loads of different ways but could be persuaded in one coherent way and it usually has been and I suppose that's something that you picked up on already Gerry about the fact that if Malachy Steenson and Gerry Hutch were one candidate that their vote would have been incredibly credible and get over the line and the election of one should it ever happens depends on the other being present and strong

Well, this is where the, and actually I was talking to...

Another party of the left, I suppose, in the RDS yesterday and talking about that question of will the left have a more formal alliance?

And that's a question now that as the Social Democrats grow in popularity, that will have to be addressed because the fracturing in Irish politics across the scale has meant that it's very unlikely, almost impossible, I suppose, nothing's impossible, but we're getting there, that it won't be ever one party government.

Can't even get away from the word coalition.

Or even two parties.

So you're looking at maybe a total left alliance, you know, with the Social Democrats, Labour, Sinn Féin and the Greens.

I nearly forgot them.

So they're talking about whether that could be on the cards, I suppose.

And that is where...

where voters are the trend is turning towards looking at that and voters will have to start to wake up to that realisation I suppose that there's going to be a strategy at play that if you want to vote for the Social Democrats that they're not like and this is another trend across the other parties that they're saying we don't want a government with Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael okay so they're saying that so that means that they have to coalesce together because it's not credible that they won't go in with either of them and get into government without everyone else

You are a self-confessed tactical voter.

Even if you gave them a preference, couldn't it help them eventually?

Yeah, oh well, I mean, if you look at the way, if it was a general election today in Galway West, she would absolutely be in.

She'd be storming in and a very convincing win there.