Editing Fianna Fáil (section)

==Ideology and platform==
{{Conservatism sidebar}}
{{Irish republicanism|Active parties}}
Fianna Fáil is primarily cited as being on the [[Centrism|centre]]{{refn|<ref name="k318">{{cite web | last=Lawless | first=Jill | title=Voters are being asked to change Ireland's Constitution which says a woman's place is in the home | website=PBS News | date=2024-03-08 | url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/voters-are-being-asked-to-change-irelands-constitution-which-says-a-womans-place-is-in-the-home | access-date=2024-10-09 | quote=...including centrist government coalition partners Fianna Fail and Fine Gael...}}</ref><ref name="t556">{{cite web | title=Irish elections: Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil lead as count continues | website=BBC Home | date=2024-06-10 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyxx9rrwgzvo | access-date=2024-10-09 | quote=Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, both centrist parties, are likely to be the first announced MEPs to return to Brussels.}}</ref><ref name="i288">{{cite web | last=Frayer | first=Lauren | title=How Sinn Fein has made themselves over | website=NPR | date=2024-03-15 | url=https://www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1238876771/how-sinn-fein-has-made-themselves-over | access-date=2024-10-03 | quote=For them, Sinn Fein is a left-wing alternative to the two centrist parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, who've dominated Irish politics since just after independence from Britain in 1921.}}</ref><ref name="w947">{{cite web | last=Clarke | first=Seán | title=Irish general election: full results | website=The Guardian | date=2020-02-11 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/10/ireland-election-latest-results-live-sinn-fein-fine-gael-fianna-fail | access-date=2024-10-04 | quote=A centrist, ideologically malleable party}}</ref><ref name="h933">{{cite web | last=O'Leary | first=Naomi | title=Why Sinn Féin is surging in the Irish election | website=POLITICO | date=2020-02-03 | url=https://www.politico.eu/article/why-sinn-fein-is-surging-in-the-irish-election/ | access-date=2024-10-03 | quote=POLITICO's poll of polls shows liberal-conservative Fine Gael and Sinn Féin both polling at 21 percent, behind the centrist Fianna Fáil at 25 percent — with some individual polls putting Sinn Féin firmly in second place.}}</ref><ref name="c553">{{cite web | last=Kelpie | first=Colm | title=Irish general election: Profile of Irish political parties | website=BBC Home | date=2020-02-06 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51386410 | access-date=2024-10-03 | quote=Fianna Fáil, the centrist party, historically appealed across all social divides.}}</ref><ref name="q657">{{cite journal | last=Friedberg | first=James J. | title=Brexit, the Misrepresentation of Democracy, and the Rock of Gibraltar | journal=University of Bologna Law Review | date=2020 | volume=5 | doi=10.6092/ISSN.2531-6133/11381 | doi-access=free | page=No 1 (2020) | url=https://bolognalawreview.unibo.it/article/view/11381 | access-date=2024-10-11 | quote=First, the recent unprecedented plurality victory of Sinn Fein in Irish elections gives power to a party ... which is likely to be more demanding of immediate reunification of Ireland than have been the duopolist Fine Gael and Fianna Fail centrist parties.}}</ref><ref>[http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/fianna-fail-on-election-footing-now-says-martin-30874717.html Fianna Fail on election footing now, says Martin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830160659/http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/fianna-fail-on-election-footing-now-says-martin-30874717.html |date=30 August 2017 }}. ''Irish Independent''. Author – Daniel McConnell. Published 1 January 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2017.</ref><ref name="b268">{{cite web | title=Ireland's Martin to Lead Historic Government Coalition | website=Associated Press (Voice of America) | date=2020-06-28 | url=https://www.voanews.com/a/europe_irelands-martin-lead-historic-government-coalition/6191868.html | access-date=2024-10-07 | quote=The two centrist parties have long shunned Sinn Fein because of its historic links to the Irish Republican Army...
}}</ref><ref name="t804">{{cite web | title=Sinn Fein demands place in Irish government after election surge | website=France 24 | date=2020-02-09 | url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200209-sinn-fein-s-surge-in-the-irish-election-leaves-three-parties-tied-exit-poll | access-date=2024-10-07 | quote=The Ipsos MRBI survey of around 5,000 voters predicted that centrist rivals Fine Gael and Fianna Fail and leftists Sinn Fein had each received around 22 per cent of first preference votes.
}}</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ireland/8284324/Micheal-Martin-to-replace-Brian-Cowen-as-Fianna-Fail-leader.html Micheal Martin to replace Brian Cowen as Fianna Fail leader] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416091406/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ireland/8284324/Micheal-Martin-to-replace-Brian-Cowen-as-Fianna-Fail-leader.html |date=16 April 2018 }}. ''The Telegraph''. Published 26 January 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2017.</ref><ref>[https://euobserver.com/beyond-brussels/133414 Weakened Irish PM faces delicate balancing act] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830152313/https://euobserver.com/beyond-brussels/133414 |date=30 August 2017 }}. ''EUobserver''. Author – Shona Murray. Published 12 May 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2017.</ref><ref name="r308">{{cite web | title=The substance of the left-right dimension in Ireland | first=Thomas | last=Däubler |
website=University College Dublin | date=2021-09-21 | url=https://www.ucd.ie/connected_politics/blog/thesubstanceoftheleft-rightdimensioninireland/ | access-date=2024-10-07 | quote=Second, Fianna Fáil made a move to the centre in 2016, which – coincidentally or not – paralleled that of Sinn Féin. This move also implies that, unlike in the elections between 2002 and 2011, Fine Gael is now placed considerably to the right of Fianna Fáil.
}}</ref><ref name="v196">{{cite web | last=Reilly | first=Gavan | title=A United Ireland, a Disunited Kingdom? – DW – 02/07/2020 | website=dw.com | date=2020-02-07 | url=https://www.dw.com/en/irish-election-a-united-ireland-a-disunited-kingdom/a-52289023 | access-date=2024-10-09 | quote=The 2011 election saw the near-wipeout of the centrist Fianna Fail rulers, who had been the largest party in every Irish parliament since the 1930s.}}</ref>}} or [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]]{{refn|<ref name="Devitt2021">{{cite book|author=Camilla Devitt|chapter=Ireland|editor=y Ellen M. Immergut|editor2=Karen M. Anderson|editor3=Camilla Devitt|editor4=Tamara Popic|title=Health Politics in Europe: A Handbook|publisher=Oxford University Press|
year=2021|isbn=9780192604248|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPAxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA90|page=90}}</ref><ref name="NorrisInglehart2019">{{cite book|author1=Pippa Norris|author2=Ronald Inglehart|title=Cultural Backlash and the Rise of Populism: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2019|isbn= 9781108426077|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X96CDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA245|page=245 }}</ref><ref name="Dunphy2016A">{{cite book|author=Richard Dunphy|chapter=Ireland|editor=Donatella M. Viola|title= Routledge Handbook of European Elections|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=9781317503637|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7stgCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA246|page=246}}</ref><ref name="p441">{{cite journal | last=Puirséil | first=Niamh | title=Fianna Fáil and the evolution of an ambiguous ideology | journal=Irish Political Studies | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=32 | issue=1 | date=2016-12-29 | issn=0790-7184 | doi=10.1080/07907184.2016.1269755 | pages=49–71 | quote=Note: In Ireland, both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael can be categorised as centre-right parties, although the former has a more populist outlook, favours more economic interventionism and some of its leaders have sometimes referred to the party's fuzzy ideology as 'left of centre'.
}}</ref><ref name="g236">{{cite journal | last1=Müller | first1=Stefan | last2=Regan | first2=Aidan | title=Are Irish voters moving to the left? | journal=Irish Political Studies | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=36 | issue=4 | date=2021-09-08 | issn=0790-7184 | doi=10.1080/07907184.2021.1973737 | doi-access=free | pages=535–555 | quote= At the ballot box, the two dominant centrist and centre-right parties – Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – have seen their vote share decline to less than 45 per cent ... Today, both parties cluster in the European liberal-centre, with Fianna Fail perhaps struggling the most in terms of party identity.| url=https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/document/88966/1/ssoar-irpolstu-2021-4-muller_et_al-Are_Irish_voters_moving_to.pdf }}</ref><ref name="Hearne 2020">{{cite book|author= Rory Hearne|title=Housing Shock: The Irish Housing Crisis and How to Solve It|publisher=Policy Press, University of Bristol|year=2020|isbn= 9781447353898|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0gfpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA112PAGES=111-112}}</ref><ref name="g024">{{cite web | last=Fahy | first=Graham | title=Ireland's dominant centre-right parties to continue post-election talks | website=Reuters | date=2020-02-25 | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/irelands-dominant-centre-right-parties-to-continue-post-election-talks-idUSKBN20J2G9/ | access-date=2024-10-03 | quote= The leaders of Ireland's two largest centre-right parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail...}}</ref><ref name="TaylorFlynn2008">{{cite book |first1=George |last1=Taylor |first2=Brendan |last2=Flynn |chapter=The Irish Greens |editor1=E. Gene Frankland |editor2=Paul Lucardie |editor3=Benoît Rihoux |title=Green Parties in Transition: The End of Grass-roots Democracy? |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BJmqUTBiZ3EC&pg=PA97 |year=2008 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=978-0-7546-7429-0 |page=97 |access-date=22 October 2016 |archive-date=26 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226015057/https://books.google.com/books?id=BJmqUTBiZ3EC&pg=PA97 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="FarnhamHondeghem2016">{{cite book |first1=John |last1=Barlow |first2=David |last2=Farnham |first3=Sylvia |last3=Horton |first4=F.F. |last4=Ridley |chapter=Comparing Public Managers |editor1=David Farnham |editor2=Annie Hondeghem |editor3=Sylvia Horton |editor4=John Barlow |title=New Public Managers in Europe: Public Servants in Transition |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UJu-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 |year=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-13947-7 |page=19 |access-date=22 October 2016 |archive-date=26 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226015059/https://books.google.com/books?id=UJu-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=guardiantitley>{{cite news |title=Beyond the yin and yang of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/feb/24/fine-gael-fianna-fail-ireland |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 February 2011 |location=London |first=Gavan |last=Titley |access-date=11 December 2016 }}</ref>}} of the [[political spectrum]].{{efn|The party has been described as anywhere from [[Centre-left politics|centre-left]]<ref name="p806">{{cite web | first2=Padraic | last2=Halpin | first1=Conor | last1=Humphries | title=Irish PM calls election as economy takes centre stage | website=Reuters | date=2016-02-03 | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/irish-pm-calls-election-as-economy-takes-centre-stage-idUSKCN0VC0Z9/ | access-date=2024-10-08}}</ref><ref name="y469">{{cite journal | last1=Collins | first1=Patrick | last2=Rainey | first2=Mark Justin | last3=Strohmayer | first3=Ulf | title=It's less the destination and more the getting there: urban development, emergence and co-production in Galway, Ireland | journal=Town Planning Review | publisher=Liverpool University Press | volume=95 | issue=1 | date=2024-01-24 | issn=0041-0020 | doi=10.3828/tpr.2023.23 | pages=89–107 | quote=Irish elections have been dominated by the two largest political parties in the state – centre-left leaning Fianna Fail, and notionally centre-right leaning Fine Gael.}}</ref> to [[right-wing politics|right-wing]].<ref name="Allen2020">{{cite book|author=Kieran Allen|
chapter=Fianna Fáil and Irish Labour: A New Hegemony?|editor1=Olivier Coquelin|editor2=Patrick Galliou|editor3=Thierry Robin|title=Political Ideology in Ireland: From the Enlightenment to the Present|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|year=2020|isbn= 9781527561335|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AiMGEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA180|page=180}}</ref>}} Fianna Fáil's ideology has been characterised both as [[Conservatism|conservative]]{{refn|<ref name="v288">{{cite web | title=Simon Harris to become Ireland's prime minister – DW – 03/25/2024 | website=dw.com | date=2024-03-25 | url=https://www.dw.com/en/simon-harris-to-become-irelands-prime-minister/a-68657280 | access-date=2024-10-08}}</ref><ref name="z353">{{cite web | last=Stone | first=Jon | title=Sinn Fein surge in polls ahead of Ireland election as Leo Varadkar's party suffers | website=The Independent | date=2020-01-21 | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/sinn-fein-ireland-election-polls-varadkar-latest-a9295366.html | access-date=2024-10-08}}</ref><ref name="c316">{{cite web | last1=Crisp | first1=James | last2=Smallcombe | first2=Mike | title=Sinn Fein calls for elections after Leo Varadkar's surprise resignation | website=The Telegraph | date=2024-03-20 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/03/20/leo-varadkar-step-down-irish-prime-minister/ | access-date=2024-10-08}}</ref><ref name="Knutsen2018">{{cite book|author=Oddbjørn Knutsen|title=Social Structure, Value Orientations and Party Choice in Western Europe|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2018|isbn=9783319521237|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JxsuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA130|page=130}}</ref><ref name="Alexiadou2016">{{cite book|author= Despina Alexiadou|chapter=Ireland|title= Ideologues, Partisans, and Loyalists: Ministers and Policymaking in Parliamentary Cabinets|publisher= Oxford University Press|year=2016|isbn= 9780198755715|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXznCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA153|page=153}}</ref><ref name="KopecekHloušek2010">{{cite book|first1=Lubomír|last1=Kopecek|first2=Vít|last2=Hloušek|title=Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties: East-Central and Western Europe Compared|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W3wHffNQ7owC&pg=PA157|year=2010|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4094-9977-0|page=157|access-date=30 October 2019|archive-date=20 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220131032/https://books.google.com/books?id=W3wHffNQ7owC&pg=PA157|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Knutsen2006">{{cite book|first=Oddbjørn|last=Knutsen|title=Class Voting in Western Europe: A Comparative Longitudinal Study|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jx0H8T1LaM8C&pg=PA39|year=2006|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-1095-9|page=39|access-date=7 November 2019|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221150434/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jx0H8T1LaM8C&pg=PA39|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Banchoff1999">{{cite book |author=T. Banchoff |title=Legitimacy and the European Union |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oX29JQSj_oUC&pg=PA130 |access-date=19 October 2017 |year=1999 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-18188-4 |page=130 |archive-date=26 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226015059/https://books.google.com/books?id=oX29JQSj_oUC&pg=PA130 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="KourvetarisMoschonas1996">{{cite book |first1=George A. |last1=Kourvetaris |first2=Andreas |last2=Moschonas |title=The Impact of European Integration: Political, Sociological, and Economic Changes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8JXZzr5TJn4C&pg=PA208 |access-date=26 August 2012 |year=1996 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-95356-0 |page=208 |archive-date=9 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009074619/http://books.google.com/books?id=8JXZzr5TJn4C&pg=PA208 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Budge|first1=Professor of Government Ian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I63z5nm0f94C&pg=PA137|title=Ideology, Strategy and Party Change: Spatial Analyses of Post-War Election Programmes in 19 Democracies|last2=Budge|first2=Ian|last3=Derek|first3=Hearl|last4=Robertson|first4=David|last5=Hearl|first5=Derek|last6=Press|first6=Cambridge University|date=1987-07-09|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-30648-5|language=en|access-date=17 March 2016|archive-date=29 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129083530/https://books.google.com/books?id=I63z5nm0f94C&pg=PA137|url-status=live}}</ref>}} and ambiguous or malleable.{{refn|<ref name="w947"/><ref name="p441"/><ref name="w803">{{cite journal | last1=O'Malley | first1=Eoin | last2=McGraw | first2=Sean | title=Fianna Fáil: the glue of ambiguity | journal=Irish Political Studies | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=32 | issue=1 | date=2017-01-02 | issn=0790-7184 | doi=10.1080/07907184.2016.1271329 | url=https://www.academia.edu/79664919| pages=1–29 | quote=Ideologically the party is ambiguous. It appears centrist, conservative, and attached to the state ... but it has also been regarded as radical, socialist, anti-Catholic and even a threat to the state ... Despite these apparent contradictions and deep ambiguity concerning what type of party Fianna Fáil really is, the party has been one of the most successful political organisations in twentieth-century Europe...}}</ref><ref name="f030"/><ref name="h763"/><ref name="c721">{{cite journal | last=Costello | first=Rory | title=Issue congruence between voters and parties: examining the democratic party mandate in Ireland | journal=Irish Political Studies | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=36 | issue=4 | date=2021-09-06 | issn=0790-7184 | doi=10.1080/07907184.2021.1973318 | doi-access=free | pages=581–605 | quote=Both parties are commonly categorised as 'catch-all' parties ... Mainwaring and McGraw (2019) find that these parties are more centrist and more flexible in terms of the policy compared to other parties in Ireland, and also display internal divergence among elected representatives across a range of policy issues. Many observers have emphasised the lack of clear policy or ideological difference between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil (e.g. Garry, 2018, p. 63; Weeks, 2018, p. 113) and competition between them often focuses on other aspects such as track-record, candidates, and leadership credentials| hdl=10344/10567 | hdl-access=free }}</ref>}} The party has also been ideologically described as [[centrist]],{{refn|<ref name="n474">{{cite journal | last=Martínez-Lirola | first=María | title=A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of a Sample of Posters Used in the 2016 and 2020 Election Campaigns in Ireland | journal=Estudios Irlandeses | issue=18 | date=2023-03-17 | issn=1699-311X | doi=10.24162/ei2023-11447 | doi-access=free | pages=37–53 | quote=Its political ideology is characterized as Irish Nationalist and Irish Republican; it can be considered a liberal party with a centrist ideology.| hdl=10045/132888 | hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="e177">{{cite book | title=Monitoring media pluralism in Europe: application of the media pluralism monitor 2017 in the European Union, FYROM, Serbia & Turkey : country report : Ireland. | date=2019| publisher=Center for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (European University Institute)| doi=10.2870/087944 | access-date=2024-10-11 | page= | url=https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/61144/2018_Ireland.pdf?sequence=3 | quote=From 1932 on, the Fianna Fail party consistently held the most parliamentary seats until the economic crash of 2008 but at the 2011 election the Fine Gael party moved into the ascendancy. Both parties are ideologically centrist: their main distinctions being positions adopted in 1922 regarding the nature of Irish independence.| author1=European University Institute. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies.| isbn=978-92-9084-688-8}}</ref><ref name="p488">{{cite journal | last=Carty | first=R. Kenneth | title=A natural governing party: Fianna Fáil in comparative perspective | journal=Irish Political Studies | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=32 | issue=1 | date=2016-12-29 | issn=0790-7184 | doi=10.1080/07907184.2016.1271331 | pages=30–48 | quote=Fianna Fáil's identity claims, centrist orientation, long 'principled' rejection of coalition politics, relatively easy dominance of electoral competition and complex internal centre–periphery organisational relationships all reflected its position as the country's natural governing party in a system where it faced both catch-all (Fine Gael) and interest-based (Labour) opponents.}}</ref>}} [[Christian democracy|Christian democratic]],{{refn|<ref name="Thompson2024">{{cite book|editor=Wayne C. Thompson|title=The World Today Series: Western Europe 2024–2025|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2024|isbn= 9781538185957|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XuYPEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA86|page=86}}</ref><ref name="Budge"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilera-directory.org/15thworldcongress/files/papers/Track_4/Thur_W4_DONAGHEY.pdf|title=Social Partnership and Democratic Legitimacy in Ireland|last1=Teague|first1=Paul|last2=Donaghey|first2=Jimmy|publisher=International Labour and Employment Relations Association|access-date=6 April 2020|archive-date=20 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020004225/http://www.ilera-directory.org/15thworldcongress/files/papers/Track_4/Thur_W4_DONAGHEY.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/feb/27/ireland-general-election-exit-poll-coalition-fine-gael?page=with:block-56d15d3fe4b0bd5a0524cda5#block-56d15d3fe4b0bd5a0524cda5|title=Ireland general election: Irish PM admits his coalition has been rejected&nbsp;– live|last1=Quinn|first1=Ben|last2=Johnston|first2=Chris|date=27 February 2016|quote=...the possibility of a grand coalition between Ireland's two centrist, sometimes right-of-centre, Christian democratic parties: Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.|access-date=6 April 2020|archive-date=13 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713055754/https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/feb/27/ireland-general-election-exit-poll-coalition-fine-gael?page=with:block-56d15d3fe4b0bd5a0524cda5#block-56d15d3fe4b0bd5a0524cda5|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Colomer|first=Josep M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TZF8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA31|title=Comparative European Politics|date=2008-07-25|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-07354-2|language=en|access-date=21 July 2020|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801132249/https://books.google.com/books?id=TZF8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA31|url-status=live}}</ref>}} [[liberal conservatism|liberal-conservative]],<ref name="o882">{{cite web | title=2020 Elections | website=CSIS | date=2024-10-07 | url=https://www.csis.org/programs/europe-russia-and-eurasia-program/projects/european-election-watch/2020-elections/ireland | access-date=2024-10-08 | quote=Fianna Fail (FF): center to center-right; liberal conservatism; ideologically similar to FG but different historical roots
}}</ref><ref name="MaginVigen2021">{{cite book|author1=Melanie Magin|author2=Marius G. Vigen|chapter=When Nothing Happened, but Much Changed: How Political Parties in Ireland Used Facebook in the 2019 European Parliament Election Campaign|editor1=Jörg Haßler|editor2=Melanie Magin|editor3=Uta Russmann|editor4=Vicente Fenoll|title=Campaigning on Facebook in the 2019 European Parliament Election: Informing, Interacting with, and Mobilising Voters|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2021|isbn=9783030738518|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Xs9EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA137|page=137}}</ref> [[populism|populist]],<ref name="Maguire1986">{{cite book|author=Maria Maguire|
chapter=Ireland|editor=Peter Flora|title=Growth to Limits: The Western European Welfare States Since World War II Volume 2|publisher= Walter de Gruyter|year=1986|isbn=9783110111316|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GaWtd5zJfB8C&pg=PA333|page=333}}</ref><ref name="Dunphy2016B">{{cite book|author=Richard Dunphy|chapter=Ireland|editor=Donatella M. Viola|title=Routledge Handbook of European Elections|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=9781317503637|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7stgCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA247|page=247}}</ref> [[conservative liberalism|conservative-liberal]],<ref name="oscillates">{{cite book | date=2019 | last=Close | first=Caroline| chapter=The liberal family ideology|editor1-last=Close|editor1-first=Caroline|editor2-last=van Haute|editor2-first=Emilie|title=Liberal Parties in Europe|pages=326–347 |publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781351245487 | quote=Interestingly, other parties classified as Conservative Liberals in previous decades have oscillated between Conservative and Social liberalism since the 1990s: This is the case of the Portuguese Social Democratic Party (PSD), the Irish Fianna Fail}}</ref><ref name="VanHauteClose2019">{{cite book|editor1=Emilie van Haute|editor2=Caroline Close |title=Liberal parties in Europe |quote= ... the classical-liberal German FDP, which has tried to keep a centrist position between the CDU/CSU and the SPD; the social-liberal D66; and the conservative-liberal Fianna Fail (although it has recently tended to move towards a more social-liberal profile).|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781351245487| page=369 |year=2019}}</ref> [[social conservatism|socially conservative]],<ref name="Kiersey2018">{{cite book|author=Nicholas Kiersey|chapter=Narrative Crisis in Ireland's Great Recession|editor1=Owen Parker|editor2=Dimitris Tsarouhas|title=Crisis in the Eurozone Periphery: The Political Economies of Greece, Spain, Ireland and Portugal|date=19 February 2018 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn= 9783319697215|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwhNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA115|page=115}}</ref><ref name="h763">{{cite news | last=Sheehan | first=Jack | title=Who is Fianna Fáil for? A dwindling, increasingly regionalised demographic | newspaper=The Irish Times | date=2023-06-17 | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2023/06/17/who-is-fianna-fail-for-a-dwindling-increasingly-regionalised-demographic/ | access-date=2024-10-07 | quote=Unlike Fine Gael, which functions as a standard European Christian Democratic or Liberal-Conservative party, Fianna Fáil has never been comfortable with the label of right-wing, or with having a discernible ideology at all ... For a decade now, a socially conservative, supposedly republican party has been led by a centrist social liberal with a more cautious position on Irish unification than even Leo Varadkar. }}</ref> [[liberalism|liberal]],{{refn|<ref name="n474"/><ref name="l509">{{cite book | last=Sarkissian | first=Armen | title=The Small States Club: How Small Smart States Can Save the World | publisher=Hurst | year=2023 | isbn=978-1-78738-940-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pTRmzwEACAAJ | access-date=2024-10-11 | page=151 | quote="The alliance between the liberal Fianna Fail and the conservative Fine Gael parties was not forged easily..."}}</ref><ref name="m660">{{cite web | title=Ireland's Fianna Fáil to step up efforts to form a government | website=www.euractiv.com | date=2020-02-20 | url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/irelands-fianna-fail-to-step-up-efforts-to-form-a-government/ | access-date=2024-10-09}}</ref><ref name="t447">{{cite web | title=Snap Elections in Ireland | website=Friedrich Naumann Foundation | date=2020-02-07 | url=https://www.freiheit.org/european-union/interview-after-brexit-snap-elections-ireland | access-date=2024-10-08}}</ref>}} [[national liberalism|national-liberal]]<ref name="s584">{{cite book | last=Krumm | first=Thomas | title=The Politics of Public–Private Partnerships in Western Europe | publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing | date=2016-03-25 | isbn=978-1-78254-926-0 | doi=10.4337/9781782549260 | page=81 | quote=For a long period its party system was dominated by the national-liberal Fianna Fail... | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=msexCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA81}}</ref> and [[national conservatism|national-conservative]].<ref name="i017">{{cite book |first1=Liesbet |last1=Hooghe|first2=Gary| last2=Marks|chapter=Preface| title=Multi-Level Governance and European Integration | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers | series=Governance in Europe Series | year=2002 | isbn=978-0-585-38166-4 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbscAAAAQBAJ&pg=PR16 | access-date=2024-10-11 | page=16}}</ref><ref name="MarksWilson2005">{{cite book| author1=Gary Marks|author2=Carole Wilson|chapter=National parties and the contestation of Europe|editor1=Thomas Banchoff|editor2=Mitchell Smith|title=Legitimacy and the European Union: The Contested Polity|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ul7SZILT6-8C&pg=PA130|year=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-67560-9|page=130}}</ref> In 2017, academics Eoin O'Malley and Sean McGraw wrote that Fianna Fáil "appears centrist, conservative, and attached to the state", but that there was "deep ambiguity concerning what type of party Fianna Fáil really is".<ref name="w803"/>

[[File:Fianna Fáil Election Poster 1948 (Workers!).jpg|right|thumb|305x305px|Fianna Fáil poster from the 1948 general election]]
In the modern era, Fianna Fáil is seen as a typical [[catch-all party]] and has defined itself as such.<ref name="f030">{{cite web | last=Mahon | first=Brian | title=Talks deepen Fianna Fáil identity crisis | website=The Times & The Sunday Times | date=2020-02-19 | url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/talks-deepen-fianna-fail-identity-crisis-h99xcb5sf | access-date=2024-10-09 | quote=Fianna Fáil, less so. It retains many of the characteristics of a catch-all party. During the election Micheál Martin tried to position it as a social democratic left of centre alternative to Fine Gael. }}</ref><ref name="z674">{{cite book | last1=Dochartaigh | first1=N.Ó. | last2=Hayward | first2=K. | last3=Meehan | first3=E. | title=Dynamics of Political Change in Ireland: Making and Breaking a Divided Island | publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=Routledge Advances in European Politics | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-317-26991-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCwlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA147 | access-date=2024-10-10 | page=147 | quote=This meant that the 'catch-all' Fianna Fáil party suffered a massive loss of voters...}}</ref> It has presented itself as a "[[Big tent|broad church]]"<ref name="Garvin">{{cite book |first1=Tom |last1=Garvin |title=Preventing the Future: Why was Ireland so Poor for so Long? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MtknAQAAIAAJ |access-date=3 June 2017 |year=2005 |publisher=Gill and Macmillan |isbn=978-0717139705 |page=208 |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521091243/https://books.google.com/books?id=MtknAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> and attracted support from across disparate [[social class]]es.<ref name="martin">{{cite news |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0126/breaking8.html |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=26 January 2011 |title=Micheal Martin elected as eighth leader of Fianna Fáil |access-date=3 July 2011 |archive-date=25 May 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120525093603/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0126/breaking8.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cowen">{{cite web |title=Cowen Calls on Government to resist OECD right wing agenda |url=http://www.fiannafail.ie/news/entry/cowen-calls-on-government-to-resist-oecd-right-wing-agenda |publisher=Fianna Fáil |date=26 May 2011 |last=Cowen |first=Barry |author-link=Barry Cowen |access-date=24 June 2013 |archive-date=14 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614132348/http://www.fiannafail.ie/news/entry/cowen-calls-on-government-to-resist-oecd-right-wing-agenda |url-status=live }}</ref> In the 1980s, [[Brian Lenihan Snr]] declared "there are no isms or [ide]ologies in my party"; further, in the early 2000s, Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern affirmed the party's catch-all stance by defining Fianna Fáil as a party that "looks out for the small ranking guy, the middle-ranking guy and assists the big guy".<ref name="Ferriter Jan 2022">{{cite news |author=[[Diarmaid Ferriter]] |date=28 January 2022 |title=Diarmaid Ferriter: Fianna Fáil now bereft of its catch-all credentials |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/diarmaid-ferriter-fianna-f%C3%A1il-now-bereft-of-its-catch-all-credentials-1.4787285 |work=[[Irish Times]] |location= |access-date=29 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=26 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226124039/https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/diarmaid-ferriter-fianna-f%C3%A1il-now-bereft-of-its-catch-all-credentials-1.4787285?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fdiarmaid-ferriter-fianna-f%25C3%25A1il-now-bereft-of-its-catch-all-credentials-1.4787285 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2023, party leader Micheál Martin described Fianna Fáil as "a progressive [[Irish republicanism|republican]] party which rejects the failed and destructive idea that you must conform to the traditional left/right ideology".<ref name="b175">{{cite news | last=Martin | first=Micheál | title=Micheál Martin: Fianna Fáil has more to offer than simplistic and divisive right-left politics | newspaper=The Irish Times | date=2023-06-22 | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2023/06/22/fianna-fail-has-more-to-offer-than-simplistic-and-divisive-rightleft-politics/ | access-date=2024-10-10 | quote=Fianna Fáil is a progressive republican party which rejects the failed and destructive idea that you must conform to the traditional left/right ideology.}}</ref>

Between 1989 and 2011, Fianna Fáil led coalition governments with parties of both the left and the right. Fianna Fáil's platform contains a number of enduring commitments: to [[Irish unity]]; to the promotion and protection of the [[Irish language]]; and to maintaining [[Irish neutrality|Ireland's tradition of military neutrality]].<ref>{{cite web |title=About Fianna Fáil |url=https://www.fiannafail.ie/about-fianna-fail/ |publisher=Fianna Fáil |access-date=5 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114050821/https://www.fiannafail.ie/about-fianna-fail/ |archive-date=14 November 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Marsh |first1=Michael |title=Fianna Fáil; History, Policies, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fianna-Fail |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=29 July 2020 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731033602/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fianna-Fail |url-status=live}}</ref> The party's name and logo incorporates the words 'The Republican Party'.<ref name="BudgeRobertson1987" /> According to Fianna Fáil, "Republican here stands both for the unity of the island and a commitment to the historic principles of European [[Republicanism|republican philosophy]], namely [[liberty, equality and fraternity]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fiannafail.ie/content/pages/5095/ |title=Our Party |publisher=Fianna Fáil |date=28 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908091800/http://www.fiannafail.ie/content/pages/5095/ |archive-date=8 September 2013 }}</ref> The party's main goal at its beginning was to reunite the North and the South.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kelly |first1=Stephen |title=Fianna Fáil, Partition and Northern Ireland, 1926–1971 |date=2013 |publisher=Irish Academic Press |location=Dublin |pages=9–12}}</ref>

Fianna Fáil is [[pro-Europeanism|supportive of the European Union]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Fianna Fáil: Tenacious Localism, Tenuous Europeanism|journal=Irish Political Studies|volume=24|issue=4|pages=491–509|doi=10.1080/07907180903274784|year = 2009|last1 = Hayward|first1 = Katy|authorlink1=Katy Hayward|last2=Fallon|first2=Jonathan|s2cid=143864920}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishnews.com/news/2019/02/22/news/sdlp-and-fianna-fa-il-call-for-all-island-pro-remain-alliance-1557635/|title=SDLP and Fianna Fáil call for all island pro remain alliance|first=Allison|last=Morris|date=22 February 2019|website=The Irish News|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=21 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921170329/http://www.irishnews.com/news/2019/02/22/news/sdlp-and-fianna-fa-il-call-for-all-island-pro-remain-alliance-1557635/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20190525-ireland-varadkar-eu-european-elections|title=Irish PM's pro-EU party ahead in European vote, polls suggest|date=25 May 2019|website=France 24|access-date=5 September 2019|archive-date=24 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024222212/https://www.france24.com/en/20190525-ireland-varadkar-eu-european-elections|url-status=live}}</ref> Although part of the liberal [[Renew Europe|Renew]] group in the European Parliament, its [[Liberalism|liberal]] nature has been disputed.<ref>{{cite book|last=Close|first=Caroline|date=12 February 2019|chapter=The liberal party family ideology: Distinct, but diverse|editor1-last=Close|editor1-first=Caroline|editor2-last=van Haute|editor2-first=Emilie|title=Liberal Parties in Europe|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6zuIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA366 366]|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781351245487|quote=However, the liberal identity of the Irish {{lang|ga|Fianna Fáil}} is highly questionable.}}</ref> As of 2009, Fianna Fáil did not always support Renew's positions on [[civil liberties]]<ref name="votewatch" /> though the party did [[Same-sex marriage in the Republic of Ireland|legalize same-sex civil partnerships]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Ahern%20Welcomes%20Coming%20Into%20Law%20of%20Civil%20Partnership%20and%20Certain%20Rights%20and%20Obligations%20of%20Cohabitants%20Act%202010 |title= Ahern Welcomes Coming Into Law of Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 |work= Department of Justice and Law Reform |date= 17 July 2010 |access-date= 18 December 2019 |archive-date= 19 October 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191019070457/http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Ahern%20Welcomes%20Coming%20Into%20Law%20of%20Civil%20Partnership%20and%20Certain%20Rights%20and%20Obligations%20of%20Cohabitants%20Act%202010 |url-status= live }}</ref> In 2014, Fianna Fáil expelled [[Member of the European Parliament|MEP]] [[Brian Crowley]] for joining the right-wing [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group]], with the party stating that "the ideas and principles of the ECR group and its component parties are totally incompatible with the core principles of Fianna Fáil".<ref name="o102">{{cite web | last=Molloy | first=Dave | title=Brian Crowley expelled from Fianna Fáil parliamentary party | website=Irish Examiner | date=2014-06-24 | url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30634360.html | access-date=2024-10-11}}</ref> In recent years, Fianna Fáil has increasingly been seen as divided on social issues,<ref name="v772">{{cite book | date=2019 | last1=Little | first1=Conor | last2=Farrell | first2=David M. | chapter= Fianna Fáil In the Liberals but not of the Liberals|editor1-last=Close|editor1-first=Caroline|editor2-last=van Haute|editor2-first=Emilie|title=Liberal Parties in Europe|pages=185–204 |publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781351245487 | quote=In recent years, Fianna Fáil has increasingly come to be seen as divided on these issues, with marriage equality and abortion having been the main 'moral policy' issues on the agenda.}}</ref><ref name="k333">{{cite news | last=McGee | first=Harry | title=Fianna Fáil revival makes Micheál Martin a great survivor of Irish politics | newspaper=The Irish Times | date=2016-03-01 | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fianna-f%C3%A1il-revival-makes-miche%C3%A1l-martin-a-great-survivor-of-irish-politics-1.2554837 | access-date=2024-10-10 | quote=When the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill came before the Dáil, the younger modernisers wanted Fianna Fáil to back it, but it was fiercely resisted by the more reactionary members of the parliamentary party (mainly senators). Martin was forced into conceding a free vote, which he claimed as "reformist" but was perceived as a weakness. That faultline between the party's conservative and liberal forces has also materialised in relation to the issue of repealing the Eighth Amendment.}}</ref> and as moving towards a more [[social liberal]] profile.<ref name="VanHauteClose2019"/> Fianna Fáil supported the unsuccessful [[2024 Irish constitutional referendums]], which would have deleted a reference to women's domestic duties and broadened the definition of the family.<ref name="k318"/>

Evidence from expert surveys, opinion polls and candidate surveys have failed to identify strong distinctions between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.<ref name="c721"/><ref name="benoitlaver1">{{cite journal |url=http://www.kenbenoit.net/pdfs/laverbenoitAJPS.pdf |title=The Evolution of Party Systems Between Elections |last1=Laver |first1=Michael |last2=Benoit |first2=Kenneth |journal=[[American Journal of Political Science]] |date=April 2003 |pages=215–233 |volume=47 |number=2 |access-date=24 June 2013 |doi=10.1111/1540-5907.00015 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193348/http://www.kenbenoit.net/pdfs/laverbenoitAJPS.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="benoitlaver2">{{cite journal |citeseerx = 10.1.1.144.6558 |title=Estimating Irish Party Positions Using Computer Wordscoring: The 2002 Elections |last2=Laver |first2=Michael |last1=Benoit |first1=Kenneth |journal=[[Irish Political Studies]] |date=June 2003 |pages=97–107 |volume=18 |number=1 |access-date=<!-- 24 June 2013  -->|doi=10.1080/07907180312331293249|s2cid=145015417 }}</ref><ref name="benoitlaver3">{{cite journal |url=http://www.kenbenoit.net/pdfs/BenoitLaver_ESR_2005.pdf |title=Mapping the Irish Policy Space: Voter and Party Spaces in Preferential Elections |last2=Laver |first2=Michael |last1=Benoit |first1=Kenneth |journal=The Economic and Social Review |date=Summer–Autumn 2005 |pages=83–108 |volume=36 |number=2 |access-date=24 June 2013 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200215/http://www.kenbenoit.net/pdfs/BenoitLaver_ESR_2005.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="glutz">{{cite journal |title=Irish party competition in the new millennium: Change, or ''plus ça change''? |last=Gilland Lutz |first=Karin |journal=Irish Political Studies |pages=40–59 |volume=18 |issue=2 |date=Winter 2003 |doi=10.1080/1364298042000227640|s2cid=153399425 }}</ref> Fianna Fáil is generally considered more [[populist]]<ref name="Whelan">{{cite book |editor1=Katy Hayward |editor2=Mary C. Murphy |chapter=Ireland's EU Referendum Experience |title=The Europeanization of Party Politics in Ireland, North and South |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780955820373 |page=26 | quote=Indeed, as an example, Fianna Fáil politicians in particular have adopted populist rhetoric in the past...}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/columnists/2023/11/04/news/patrick_murphy_sinn_fe_in_and_fianna_fa_il_are_more_alike_than_they_would_admit-3746486/|newspaper=[[The Irish News]]|date=3 November 2023|access-date=23 September 2024|title=Patrick Murphy: Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil are more alike than they would admit|last=Murphy|first=Patrick}}</ref> and [[Economic interventionism|economically interventionist]]<ref name="r679">{{cite web | last1=Kedrowski | first1=Karen M. | last2=Haussman | first2=Melissa | title=Prime Minister May's Tightrope Walk between Brexiteers and Remainers | publisher=University of Michigan Press | date=2023 | url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/166/oa_monograph/chapter/3773216 | access-date=2024-10-11 | quote=In the Republic of Ireland, Fine Gael, under which Leo Varadkar led the Irish parliament (Oireachtas) from June 2017 to June 2020 as Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, is slightly to the right of Fianna Fail. It has a more pronounced pro-market liberalization stance.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Murphy |first=William |date=2005 |title=Cogging Berkeley?: "The Querist" and the Rhetoric of Fianna Fáil's Economic Policy |jstor= 24338940 |journal=Irish Economic and Social History |volume=32 |pages=63–82 |doi=10.1177/033248930503200104 |s2cid=157142918 }}</ref> than its rival.<ref name="p441"/> [[University College Dublin]] professor Thomas Däubler wrote that Fianna Fáil had "made a move to the centre" in the [[2016 Irish general election|2016 election]], which resulted in Fine Gael being placed "considerably to the right" of Fianna Fáil.<ref name="r308"/> In 2020, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine described Fianna Fáil as "slightly more socially conservative and further to the left on the economy" than Fine Gael.<ref name="l880">{{cite magazine | last=Nugent | first=Ciara | title=Ireland Goes to the Polls on Saturday. Here's Why the Stakes Are So High | magazine=TIME | date=2020-02-05 | url=https://time.com/5778249/ireland-elections-2020/ | access-date=2024-10-09}}</ref> Fianna Fáil has been described in modern times as struggling with its identity as a party.<ref name="g236"/><ref name="f030"/><ref name="h763"/><ref name="z870">{{cite web | last=Cionnaith | first=Fiachra Ó | title=Micheál Martin faces identity crisis in Fianna Fáil | website=RTE.ie | date=2020-12-13 | url=https://www.rte.ie/news/analysis-and-comment/2020/1213/1183944-fianna-fail-analysis/ | access-date=2024-10-09}}</ref> In 2023, Jack Sheehan of ''[[The Irish Times]]'' wrote that "for a decade now, a socially conservative, supposedly republican party has been led by a centrist social liberal with a more cautious position on Irish unification than even [[Leo Varadkar]]."<ref name="h763"/>

===20th century===
In the early 20th century, Fianna Fáil had a more explicitly working-class orientation. In 1926, Seán Lemass described the party as "a progressive republican party based on the actual conditions of the moment"<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Loughlin |first1=Michael |title=Republicanism still a potent link between Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/republicanism-still-a-potent-link-between-fianna-f%C3%A1il-and-sinn-f%C3%A9in-1.4170582?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Frepublicanism-is-still-the-potent-link-between-fianna-fail-and-sinn-f%25C3%25A9in-1.4170582 |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=12 February 2020 |archive-date=9 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709024144/https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/republicanism-still-a-potent-link-between-fianna-f%C3%A1il-and-sinn-f%C3%A9in-1.4170582?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Frepublicanism-is-still-the-potent-link-between-fianna-fail-and-sinn-f%25C3%25A9in-1.4170582 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Puirséil FF Evolution"/> while upon winning the [[1932 Irish general election]], newly elected Fianna Fáil TD [[Seán Moylan]] proclaimed that Fianna Fáil's win meant a victory of "the owners of the donkey and cart over the pony and trap class".<ref name="Ferriter Jan 2022"/> The Fianna Fáil party of the 1930s has been described as an economically [[social democratic]] one that sought to create an economically independent state ([[autarky]]) via protectionist policies, based on its [[Cultural nationalism|culturally nationalist]] thinking.<ref name="Puirséil FF Evolution">{{cite journal |last1=Puirséil |first1=Niamh |date=2016 |title=Fianna Fáil and the evolution of an ambiguous ideology |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07907184.2016.1269755?journalCode=fips20 |journal=Irish Political Studies |volume= 32|issue= |pages= 49–71|doi=10.1080/07907184.2016.1269755 |s2cid=152051248 |access-date=12 April 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

During the leadership of Seán Lemass in the 1960s, Fianna Fáil began to utilise some [[Corporatism|corporatist]] policies (embracing the concept of '[[Social Partnership|social partnership]]'), taking some influence from [[Catholic social teaching]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Finnegan|first=Richard B.|url=|title=Ireland: Historical Echoes, Contemporary Politics|date=2018-02-20|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-429-96817-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Patterson|first=Henry|date=1988|title=Fianna Fáil and the Working Class: The Origins of the Enigmatic Relationship|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23196031|journal=Saothar|volume=13|pages=81–88|jstor=23196031|issn=0332-1169|access-date=10 December 2021|archive-date=10 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210035640/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23196031|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2003|title=Ireland as Catholic corporatist state: a historical institutional analysis of healthcare in Ireland|url=https://www.ul.ie/ppa/content/files/258567748.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210205816/https://www.ul.ie/ppa/content/files/258567748.pdf |archive-date=2021-12-10 |url-status=live|journal=|via=University of Limerick}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Roche|first=Bill|date=2008|title=Social Partnership: From Lemass to Cowen|url=https://www.ul.ie/iair/sites/default/files/2008%20Lecture%20by%20Bill%20Roche.pdf|journal=|via=UL|access-date=10 December 2021|archive-date=3 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203074550/https://www.ul.ie/iair/sites/default/files/2008%20Lecture%20by%20Bill%20Roche.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It was also during Lemass' time that the party shifted heavily away from autarkic thinking and towards a firm belief in [[free trade]] and [[foreign direct investment]] in Ireland.<ref name="Puirséil FF Evolution"/>

In 1967, Jack Lynch described the party as "left of centre" while suggesting it was to the left of Fine Gael and Labour. However, during the [[1969 Irish general election]], the party ran [[red scare]] tactics against Labour after it began using the slogan "the seventies will be socialist!". As Fine Gael became more and more socially liberal in the 1970s under [[Garret FitzGerald]], the party reacted by embracing social conservatism and populism.<ref name="Budge"/><ref name="Puirséil FF Evolution"/> In the same time period, the emergence of [[the Troubles]] and the Arms Crisis of 1971 tested the party's nationalism, but despite these events, Fianna Fáil maintained their moderate culturally nationalist stance.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ivory |first1=Gareth |date=Fall 1997 |title=Fianna Fail, Constitutional Republicanism, and the Issue of Consent: 1980–1996 |url=https://www.academia.edu/2941780 |journal=Irish-American Cultural Institute |volume=32 |issue=2–3 |pages=93–116 |doi= |access-date=12 April 2022}}</ref> In 1983, R. Ken Carty wrote of Fianna Fáil and [[Fine Gael]] that they were "heterogeneous in their bases of support, relatively undifferentiated in terms of policy or programme, and remarkably stable in their support levels".<ref name="x538">{{cite journal | last=Holsteyn | first=Joop van | title=Days of Blue Loyalty. The Politics of Membership of the Fine Gael Party | journal=Acta Politica | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=39 | issue=1 | date=2004-03-17 | issn=0001-6810 | doi=10.1057/palgrave.ap.5500048 | pages=96–99 | quote=Ken Carty (1983, 1) was puzzled by the fact that one found parties 'heterogeneous in their bases of support, relatively undifferentiated in terms of policy or programme, and remarkably stable in their support levels'}}</ref> 

In the 1990s, Fianna Fáil was described as a [[Conservatism|conservative]] and [[Irish nationalism|nationalist]] party.<ref name="Banchoff1999" /><ref name="KourvetarisMoschonas1996" />