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Fine Gael will win the next general election, Michael Ring has predicted.<\/p>\nFine Gael will win the next general election, Michael Ring has predicted.<\/p>\n
But the Rural and Community Development Minister did not rule out the possibility of a Fine Gael-Green Party coalition after the next general election, adding that it would depend on their policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine Gael is going to win more seats and we are now looking at every single constituency in the country,\u201d Mr Ring said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to be looking for candidates that can stand for Fine Gael. I believe Fine Gael will win the election and are going to win the election.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cPeople will have to make a decision when the election comes \u2013 do they want somebody who wrecked the economy or do they want someone who brought the economy back?\u201d<\/p>\n
His comments come as a new opinion poll suggests Fianna F\u00e1il is more popular than Fine Gael for a second consecutive month in a row.<\/p>\n
The Behavior and Attitudes poll for the Sunday Times showed support for Fianna F\u00e1il up 2% to 30%, while Fine Gael was at 26%, up 3%.<\/p>\n
It found that Sinn F\u00e9in had recovered some support, up 2% to 14%, but the Green Party had dropped 4% to 7%.<\/p>\n
Asked whether a coalition with the Green Party might be on the table after the next general election, Mr Ring said Fine Gael would have to wait to see what their policies are.<\/p>\n
The Mayo TD said the Greens had \u201csome good policies\u201d but he said some of their policies would not \u201csit\u201d with him or with people in rural Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is alright talking about climate change and carbon tax, it is alright talking about electric cars and all that. But there is no point in me coming from Dublin in an electric car if I do not have the points between Westport and Dublin. I could be stuck on the roads six or seven hours a day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to get the infrastructure in place first. There\u2019s a lot of work to be done before we can start talking about a lot of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Ring added that Fine Gael was committed to climate change but it had to be done in a \u201creasonable fashion\u201d and that they had to make sure that the public were on board.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe learned that before from water and from other issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to bring people with you, educate them, talk to people and have to show them the good and the bad and the pain and the good of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Green Party has been celebrating a surge of membership since its success in the recent local and European elections in May, when 37 councilors and two MEPs were elected, but Mr Ring insisted Fine Gael had also performed well.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be fair to Fine Gael, they got 23% of the vote, the same as Fianna F\u00e1il. You\u2019d always expect the Government to get a bit of a kicking in the mid-term. They didn\u2019t. The Greens took a few seats off us, that\u2019s fine. We actually gained 20 seats,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that in the European election Fine Gael \u201cwent with four and came back with five\u201d, which he said they had \u201cgot no credit for\u201d at all.<\/p>\n