Fine Gael Opens Online Election Campaign

Opposition party Fine Gael have wasted no time in the New Year, shutting down their usual website to make way for a special election forum in the run up to this year's election in the Irish Republic.

The party has temporarily replaced its current site with a forum asking the public to respond to a number of questions such as, "what do you think has gone wrong in the country?"

So far the only published responses have been supportive of the opposition party, with Danny O'Brien from Dublin responding: "Not having Enda Kenny in office is what has gone wrong."

David Monks from Dublin answered another question, "How can we improve the country?", saying: "Honesty, Integrity, Accountability, Public sector and polotical reform need to be tackled. We need a genuine effort from a government to tackle the waste inherent in the public sector. We need a businesslike approach."

The new site also features a video message from party leader Enda Kenny saying that one of the great failings of politicians is they "talk too much and do not listen enough".

"What I am going to do now is to stand down the Fine Gael website for a number of weeks and I am going to replace it with a facility that will allow people to send in their complaints, ideas and proposals about what we should do."

The new website has also been linked up with other social media, such as facebook and twitter, and a Fine Gael YouTube channel has also been established.

The party’s environment spokesman Phil Hogan said Fine Gael were starting the election period in the right way.

"It can no longer be about old-style party politics. It is about pulling together as a country to get the best ideas and people involved in solving our country's problems."

(DW/GK)