Ireland’s voters have chosen to stick with the devil they know

At first glance, Ireland’s general election has bucked global trends: the centre has held. If the exit polls are borne out, the century-long dominance of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael appears set to continue, with another coalition government likely.

But storm clouds are gathering. The most recent ill-winds stirred when Simon Harris, the Taoiseach, faced what is perhaps the most exotic and daunting task for Ireland’s liberal establishment: an unscripted interaction with a voter.

In a painfully awkward exchange at a Cork supermarket – later immortalised online – Harris transformed from the ‘TikTok Taoiseach’ into Ireland’s answer to The Thick of It. Confronted by a care worker who accused him of ignoring those like her, working on low wages caring for the disabled, Harris shot back, ‘No you weren’t’. The tetchy back-and-forth dragged on until Harris, glancing at the camera capturing it all, shook her hand and walked off. ‘Keep