The general election has returned a shock to the Irish establishment, long coming, but largely unanticipated by the majority of political analysts and pollsters. And the post-election analysis of the results continues this trend. Looking at the top-line numbers from the vote counts, the pivot to the left, much-discussed in the media, has been less apparent, when one considers the preferences expressed by the voters in the surveys.  And while the Sinn Féin elections platform tilted heavily toward traditional left views on public expenditure, taxation and redistributive services, this tilt is not that closely aligned with the voters’ expressed preferences. …

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