Expectation that Election will take place on November 29
Politicians and voters alike are left guessing when the election is going to be.
Speculation abounds of different dates for the General Election, as politicians and voters alike are left guessing when the election is going to be, but there is finally an almost unanimous consensus across representatives in Waterford that the election will be held on November 29.
The belief across politics is that the Government is hoping to pass the Finance Bill prior to the pre-election dissolution of the Dáil, with the final stage of that Bill starting on November 5; the day for the announcement and dissolution of the Goverment is looking likely to be November 6 or November 7.
In Leinster House this week there was a sense of nervous energy; pre-election headshots are being edited, and teeth-whitening appointments are being booked.
"Would they just announce it already," one Waterford electoral candidate said to Waterford News & Star, another politician said they wished they could read the Taoiseach's mind.
There are lots of different ways of predicting the date of a General Election, it has been 1,709 days since this Government was elected - the fourth longest in the history of the Republic.
Nobody expects this Government to last as long as the 1,823 days that Éamon de Valera's Fianna Fáil Government lasted from June 30, 1938 all the way to June 26, 1943. The average length of a Government since November 1992 is 1,630 days, leaving us overdue an election since the start of August. Given the circumstances, it's understandable that politicians are getting a little bit anxious for the election to be called already.
Following a coalition party meeting on Monday night, The Irish Times reported that the Government had agreed the election would take place in 2024, with the Taoiseach Simon Harris favouring a Friday election.
After the Green Party leader Minister Roderic O'Gorman called for the election to be held on the highly expected date of November 29, their coalition partners were annoyed.
Would selecting that day not make it look like the tail is wagging the coalition dog? One Government source said "no". "If the election goes into December, the party members would be unimpressed," they said.
With December 6, being the night of the Late Late Toy Show, Waterford's politicians seem confident that there won't be a December election for everyone in the audience.
