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They’re one of Brussels’ best-known political double-acts, but Irish MEPs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace are facing an uphill battle to retain their seats in the European Parliament.
The two left-wingers, who were elected to the Parliament in the last European election five years ago, are trailing in the most recent Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll, just a few weeks out from voting day.
Daly, who is running in the Dublin constituency (which has 4 MEPs), is polling at 6 percent.
Wallace, a former builder and property developer who is running for re-election in the South constituency (which will choose 5 MEPs), is polling at 3 percent.
The two MEPs have made headlines over their stance on the war in Ukraine, criticizing the EU’s response and military support for Kyiv. They also voted against a resolution in the European Parliament calling for the establishment of a tribunal to prosecute Russia’s leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
A 2022 investigation by the Irish Times revealed that the two MEPs have been covered widely in state-controlled media in Russia, China and elsewhere, largely cast as supporters of the policies of those governments.
The two MEPs sit in the Left group in the European Parliament.
Election results in Ireland are difficult to predict. Unlike most countries in the European Union, candidates vying for the 14 seats up for grabs in the European Parliament are elected through a single transferable vote system across three different constituencies.
The single transferable vote system — in which voters rank their choice of candidates — means that “transfer” votes can play a decisive role in who is elected.
The system could benefit Daly in particular if voters deem her to be transfer-friendly, though she is competing for the far-left vote with Bríd Smith of People Before Profit who is also polling at 6 percent.
Migration has emerged as the dominant political issue in Ireland ahead of European and local elections which both take place on Friday, June 7.
While Ireland has traditionally had a positive attitude to immigration given its own history of emigration, the government is struggling to house migrants and refugees amid a major housing crisis and an increase in immigration.
Ireland has accepted more than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees since Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022, one of the highest percentages per capita in the European Union.
In addition, it is battling with a Brexit-induced jump in migrants entering the Republic of Ireland from Northern Ireland as the Rishi Sunak government has toughened its migration stance.
Earlier this month, new Taoiseach Simon Harris announced a cut in benefits for Ukrainian refugees, having previously reduced payments to new arrivals from €232 a week to €38.80 in March.
