The Irish general election, 1952 was held on 1 July 1952. The people of Ireland elected a new Dail Eireann, and Fianna Fail maintained its grip on the government. The election was significant in that it marked the first time that the Irish Labor Party was in second place, and the first time that Fine Gael was not one of the two competing parties.
History[]
The Fiachsteria scandal destroyed Fine Gael as a competitive electoral force at the 1950 election, and Fianna Fail formed the new government under Colm O'Farrell. The Fianna Fail government, which supported economic liberalism, was just as unable to solve the crisis as Fine Gael had been, as the two parties generally agreed on trade policy, while Fianna Fail, in fact, argued for lesser taxation (instead advocating for reduced military spending). Emigration and the national debt continued to increase, so the Irish Labor Party, led by Donagh Connolly, organized nationwide campaigns to increase party membership. Soon, the Labor Party's supporters outnumbered Fianna Fail supporters in some parts of the country, and more and more Irish people were drawn towards socialism as the Fianna Fail government proved itself unable to tackle the crisis.
On 1 January 1952, O'Farrell announced that new elections were to be held, as his government was unable to make much progress while Fine Gael and Sinn Fein continued to hold a parliamentary majority. With only 27.8% of the Dail Eireann being held by Fianna Fail, the opposition parties jumped at the opportunity to destroy the new government. Nevertheless, the results were supposed to be a clear Fianna Fail victory; polls predicted that Fianna Fail would win the election with 80.14% of the vote, that Fine Gael would place second with 7.15% of the vote, Sinn Fein in third with 6.14%, and the Labor Party in fourth with 3.16%. These predictions were to be proven wildly inaccurate by the historic election.
The election coincided with a nationwide campaign by the Labor Party to increase voter numbers, and the Labor Party's support vastly surpassed that of both Sinn Fein and Fine Gael, both of which had been rendered moribund by the previous election. The election saw the Labor Party win in County Kerry, County Limerick, County Cork, and County Donegal, achieving clear majorities in Kerry and Limerick. In County Galway, Fianna Fail led with just a 2.8% lead over the Labour Party. Fianna Fail remained strong in the center of the island, while it won over many conservative voters who abandoned Fine Gael and Sinn Fein in favor of the most competent party of the center-right. Fianna Fail ultimately won the entire central (horizontal) third of the island, along with parts of the south, and they won the election.
The 1952 general election was truly historic for many reasons. First, it marked the first time since before 1937 that the election's main contenders were not both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail; likewise, it marked the first time that the Labour Party was one of the main contenders. It was also a closely fought election, with the past three elections (possibly with the exception of 1949) being landslides or near-landslides for the winning party in terms of counties won. Also, it was important to Fianna Fail, as it confirmed their leadership of the country during the Fiachsteria crisis. For Fianna Fail supporters, it was seen as a referendum on economic liberalism, which they determined was the right course for solving the crisis. For Labour Party supporters, it was seen as a critical stage in the revolutionary process, as the Labour Party had become the second party in Irish politics, and now had the potential to dethrone the two Irish Civil War-era parties of the center-right. In the 1957 election, it would be the Labour Party facing the other Irish Civil War-era party, Fine Gael, which won the election.
Results[]
Fianna Fail - 43.43%
Irish Labor Party - 33.34%
Fine Gael - 13.8%
- Sinn Fein - 9.41%
