Ireland's Ruling Party Crushed at Polls in Fallout From Failed Economy

No luck for Ireland's ruling party. The government in power paid a price Friday for presiding over an economy that went through the floor when a housing bubble burst, strapping the banks that made the loans and forcing the country to take a huge international bailout.

Fianna Fail (from the Irish, Soldiers of Destiny) drew just over 15 percent of the vote in exit polls, according to the New York Times, leaving it a weak third behind the candidates of Fine Gael (Clan of Gaels) and the Labor Party. The all but certain defeat for a party in command in Dublin since 1997 means the end for Prime Minister Brian Cowen. Fairly or not, Cowen is blamed for the mismanagement that led to a $92.8 billion loan package, tied to a forced four-year austerity program.

Fine Gael, a center-right party politically, polled nowhere near a majority, meaning it will likely form a coalition government with the centrist Labor Party. If that happens, party leader Enda Kenny will probably become prime minister, or taoiseach, as the position is called in the Republic of Ireland. He has said he will attempt to renegotiate the loan terms.

The election marks a steep fall from grace for Fianna Fail. As recently as six years ago, unemployment was at 4.2 percent and Ireland was attracting young workers and playing a starring role in the European Union. This year joblessness approached 14 percent.

"The feeling is that this is a day of revenge," Tom McDonnell an analyst with TASC, an economic policy think tank, told the Times.

Folo Tom Diemer on Twitter http://twitter.com/tomdiemer