Varadkar risks defeat as Irish voters head to polls

Bloomberg

Ireland voted on Saturday, with PM Leo Varadkar’s party facing a struggle to retain power after almost a decade in office.
Voting started at 7 am and was expected to finish at 10 pm. State broadcaster RTE was expected to release an exit poll immediately after voting ends. Counting is set to begin on Sunday, with a clear picture of the outcome expected to emerge around midday.
During the campaign, Fine Gael highlighted the premier’s success in keeping the country’s border with Northern Ireland free of checks after Brexit. That, however, seems to be falling flat amid voter discontent over a housing shortage, an ailing health service and a general sense that the privately-educated, former doctor has failed to connect with voters.
Fianna Fail, which oversaw the 2008 economic crash and the international bailout that followed, is set to return to power, polls indicate.
“A government led by one of the two establishment parties, with minority support from the other, seems to be the most likely outcome,” Bert Colijn,
an economist with ING Groep NV said.