Campaign strategies: How the campaign was won and lost

Informed by extensive interviews with key figures, this chapter examines the strategies employed by each party in the campaign and how these were developed and selected. Extensive polling and focus group research and lessons from the UK election of 2015 underpinned Fine Gael’s (FG) ‘Lets keep the recovery going’, highlighting achievement and the economic risks posed by the opposition. It explains the failure of this message to resonate with the voters, arguing it was oversold and undermined by a gaffe strewn campaign, particularly by its leader. Labour’s promise to balance FG failed as voters turned against that party.