DE VALERA'S STAR WANING

Chronicle (Levin), 4 February 1948, Page 5

DE VALERA'S STAR WANING

(N.Z.P.A.—

-Reiiier,

Changes Likely at E(re , Elections

Cdpyright) .

, Received 'Tuesday, 7 p.m. LONDON, Feb. .2.' . Tke. Eire elections sll'e i'*ec-eiymg- coiisiderable at-tention from the British Fress aud the possibility that Mr. -d'e Valera and his Fiaiui^ Fail Party may be unabfe to 'seeure a working major- • 5 Lty, is being freely discussed.LLEire .correspondents of ' London newspapers are all agreed* that the Fianna Fail ' will reiflain the strongest. individual party but several of them are dubio-us ■ whether Mr. de Valera eau sOc'ure flies uiuimum 74 seats required 'to pro-vide u bare majority over the three , ehi'ei v/pposition groups aud tYejr Independoui supporters. Mr. de V aiera has repoatediy emphasised his distrust oi , oaiitious and it is predicted that if he ■ aiis to seeure a ciear majority, he wiil 4.(jriu a luino'rity Governriieiit with the 1 aid of a number of lndependents and go- to the eountry again later this year,. Political observei's. in Eire are agreed that Air. de Valera Vchief hamlicap Is Oio f'aet that he has had 1(5 years oi ufl'ice and tliat inevitabiy the feeiing uas grown up that ,the eouiitry wmau ,ia ifetter for awluinge. A Ou the other hanaP" Air. Sean AlaCBride's new OppoSition Farty, the Olann Na Foblacnta, which. was eonsutered the greatesk threat to Air. de v aiera in the early stages of the eampaign, is now stated to have lost a good deal of popularity. Aluch of this reiapse is clue to Air. . AlaeBride's un- ■ orthodox noti.ons of finance w.filefi fiavealieiiaLed the supp'brt of tlie Oonsei'vative section of tne- business • omaunu tv. l'oday, aecording to observers, tlie Oonservative eieiuents wiio tought Mr. de Valera most bitterlv before he came

to po.\*er, are his cliiei supporters. , Ihe old lssffes oi i'eligiuii, separatiuir from Britain aud Irisn indepeudehce, intve not entered into the present eam puign to any extenl. The religious as peci, to be expected 111 a predoiuin cuitly Ronniu Oatnolic co'untry, is con iined to the deiiuuciation of Oouunun isni by all -parties. The anti-JJritish feeiing has emerged only occasionall.y and luen ouiy ror xiatently politicui purposes. mueed, the " most notabk change reveaJed by tlie cainpaign is thc desire 61 all the main 'groups to nuprove reiations with the United Kingdom. li , is trffe Air. AlacBride advocates cuiting tiie last ties with Britain bv deeiaring an lrish liepublie but he justifies this m true irish lashion by arguing thai this would, remove Eire 's preseni equivocal status inside the Commouweaith and maive it possibie to nuprove Auglo irish reiations. The eampaign, in the main, lias been fought on econotnic issues with ihe liiyu cust of ILvmg ihe chief public grievance. There is a strong body of opinion. ui Eire, particniarty aniong tlie younger genei'ation, which hoicfs that Air. d'u Valera has not made the best use oi his economrc oppui lunitie's aud Air. oMacBri.de is expioitiug this feeiing to ihe full. leven so, most observers consider Jlr. AlacBride s party wiil noido better than iiil third pla.ee with Gen . sral Aiulcahy 's ' h'jne Gael or U'niteu lreland Farty, seeond. In that evenl vine section oi the i-iabour Farty wili support.ALr. rdu'Jciihy a'iul tlie otlier ilr. de \ aiera and it reiuaius to be seeii \vnether • a workable coalitiou wiii emerge out of tlie various party align menth wlucli are possiule. These arc many and various as there are 110 fewei than six distinet parties with 32 ludepeiiutnls rcpresonung a total of 4vln cuiKitdates ior 140 seats.