Editing Fine Gael (section)

==Electoral performance since 2009==
In the [[2009 Irish local elections|2009 local elections]] held on 5 June 2009, Fine Gael won 556 seats, surpassing [[Fianna Fáil]] which won 407 seats, and making Fine Gael the largest party of local government nationally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electionsireland.org/results/local/2009local.cfm|title=2009 Local Elections|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=6 September 2009|archive-date=9 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090909072545/http://www.electionsireland.org/results/local/2009local.cfm|url-status=live}}</ref> They gained 88 seats from their 2004 result.

In the [[2009 European Parliament election in Ireland|2009 European Parliament election]] held on the same day as the local elections, which saw a reduction in the number seats from 13 to 12 for Ireland, the party won four seats, retaining the largest number of seats of an Irish party in the [[European Parliament]]. This was a loss of one seat from its 2004 result.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/elections/european/ |title=Elections 2009 – European Elections: National Summary |work=[[RTÉ News]] |access-date=6 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090810124801/http://www.rte.ie/news/elections/european/ |archive-date=10 August 2009 }}</ref>

In the [[2011 Irish general election|2011 general election]], Fine Gael gained 25 seats bringing them to a total of 76. The party ran candidates in all 43 constituencies and had candidates elected in every constituency except [[Dublin North-West (Dáil constituency)|Dublin North-West]]. Fine Gael won 19 seats in [[24th Seanad|Seanad Éireann]] following the 2011 election, a gain of four from the previous election in 2007.

While Fine Gael was responsible for the initial nomination of the uncontested, first [[President of Ireland]], [[Douglas Hyde]], a Fine Gael candidate has never won an election to the office of president. The Fine Gael presidential candidate, [[Gay Mitchell]], finished fourth in the [[2011 Irish presidential election|2011 presidential election]], with 6.4% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2011P&cons=194|title=2011 Presidential Election|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=8 July 2012|archive-date=22 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722144459/http://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2011P&cons=194|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2004, Fine Gael supported the re-election of President [[Mary McAleese]]. Similarly, it supported the re-election of [[Michael D. Higgins]] in the [[2018 Irish presidential election|2018 presidential election]].

In the [[2016 Irish general election|2016 general election]] the outgoing government consisting of Fine Gael and its partner the [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] was defeated. The previous government had the largest majority in the history of the state with a combined 113 seats out of the 166-seat [[Dáil Éireann]]. The aftermath of the general election resulted in months of negotiations for an agreement of government. A deal was reached with the main opposition and traditional rival Fianna Fáil to facilitate a minority [[Government of the 32nd Dáil|Fine Gael-led government]]. Fine Gael governed [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] alone with eight [[Independent politicians|Independent]] members of the [[Dáil Éireann|Dáil]] until 2020, when the party emerged as the third party following the general election. After governing for several months in a caretaker capacity, Fine Gael agreed to serve in a historic coalition government along with its traditional rival, Fianna Fáil, and the Green Party, with Fianna Fáil leader [[Micheál Martin]] serving as Taoiseach and Leo Varadkar serving as Tánaiste.
As per the agreed Programme for Government, on 17 December 2022, Leo Varadkar returned to the role of Taoiseach with Micheál Martin as Tánaiste.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bray |first1=Jennifer |last2=Horgan-Jones |first2=Jack |date=17 December 2022 |title=As it happened: Leo Varadkar becomes Taoiseach and announces new Cabinet |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2022/12/17/leo-varadkar-takes-over-as-taoiseach-from-micheal-martin/#:~:text=Leo%20Varadkar%20will%20be%20elected,minimal%20reshuffling%20of%20Cabinet%20positions |access-date=16 October 2024 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]}}</ref>