Editing Fine Gael (section)

===Decline and rebuilding===
The 1980s had proven fruitful electorally for Fine Gael, but the 1990s and early 2000s saw this momentum decline quickly. One of the first signs of this was the party's poor result in the [[1990 Irish presidential election|1990 presidential election]], in which their candidate [[Austin Currie]] obtained just 17% of the first preference vote.

Fine Gael formed a government between 1994 and 1997 with the Labour Party and the [[Democratic Left (Ireland)|Democratic Left]]. This government legalised divorce [[Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|after a successful referendum]] in 1995. The party's share of TDs fell from 54 in 1997<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |title=1997 general election |url=http://irelandelection.com/elections.php?detail=yes&tab=summary&elecid=4&electype=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129143202/http://irelandelection.com/elections.php?detail=yes&tab=summary&elecid=4&electype=1 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |access-date=29 January 2021 |website=Irelandelecion.com |publisher= |quote=}}</ref> to only 31<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |title=2002 general election |url=http://irelandelection.com/elections.php?elecid=4&elecbutton=Next&tab=summary&detail=yes&electype=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213031600/http://irelandelection.com/elections.php?elecid=4&elecbutton=Next&tab=summary&detail=yes&electype=1 |archive-date=13 February 2021 |access-date=29 January 2021 |website=Irelandelection.com |publisher= |quote=}}</ref> in the [[2002 Irish general election|2002 general election]], its second-worst result ever at that point. It was at this point [[Enda Kenny]] took over leadership of the party and began the process of rebuilding it. At the [[2007 Irish general election|2007 general election]] Kenny was able to bring Fine Gael back to its 1997 levels with 51 TDs.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |title=2007 general election |url=http://irelandelection.com/elections.php?elecid=3&elecbutton=Next&tab=summary&detail=yes&electype=1 |access-date=29 January 2021 |website=Irelandelection.com |publisher= |quote=}}</ref>