In what is possibly the most tediously boring election campaign in living memory, we call where we see the parties at the moment:

Fianna Fail: Michael Martin has had a good election so far, continuing with his distancing of the party’s past in the TV3 debate. Their political reform proposals are by far the most radical of the three main parties, although they will be worried at the stubborn refusal of the party’s number to get closer to 20%. Canvassers report that, whilst the going is rough, they are getting a hearing on the doors after an inital five minute bollocking.

Fine Gael: We have yet to see whether Enda’s failure to attend the TV3 debate damaged Fine Gael. Our suspicion is not, with Enda still on track to be the clear winner of the election.

Labour: Eamonn Gilmore gave a solid if flat performance in the debate, and did little to reach our beyond the Labour 20% if he is serious about challenging for Taoiseach. One member of the front bench continues to be a shocking liability to the party. We won’t name them, but if you know who we are talking about without us naming that person, then it kinda proves our point. To paraphrase Carly Simon:You probably think this blog is about you, don’t you?

Sinn Fein: The Shinners continue to beaver away in their target seats, with all evidence suggesting they are on target for a strong performance.

The Greens: They’re doing what a tiny party has to do (said the ex-PD) and beavering away in their constituencies with a nauseous feeling in their stomaches, caused not as much by fear of voter anger, but even worse for a party: The same thing that killed the PDs: Irrelevence.

The United Left: Funniest line of the election so far goes to Joe at his party manifesto launch: “The manifesto is an aid to discussion on the doorsteps with working people” I think I’d pay good money to watch that on the telly, as Joe takes each voter through the document on a line by line basis. I really hope Joe gets in, he’s wasted in Strasbourg.