Salient But Not Polarized: The Role of the EU in the Irish Electoral Arena

The 2020 Dáil elections have often been described as the end of an era—for the first time ever, Sinn Féin won the most votes over previously dominant Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Being the first post-Eurozone crisis and post-Brexit elections, they make for an interesting case study to understand the relevance of the EU in the Irish electoral arena. This chapter analyzes the EU politicization in Irish politics and media, and the determinants of party choice in the 2020 elections. First, we find that the salience of the EU has increased in newspapers and parliamentary debates over the past 20 years. Irish print media has also developed a more critical tone on the EU since the Eurozone crisis and Brexit. Parliamentary debates show a more nuanced picture, with parties converging in their tone on the EU, confirming that party competition in Ireland rarely takes place over EU issues. Our analysis of electoral behaviour does not reveal a strong impact of EU issue voting, but Sinn Féin still benefits from a Eurosceptic vote, despite the softer Euroscepticism the party recently adopted. Together with their successful mobilization of salient socio-economic issues, this can explain their electoral performance in 2020.