The fact that the present Irish general election campaign is widely regarded as the shortest on record may well be a way of preparing the public for a return to the polling stations within a relatively short period of time.
All the indications are that the outgoing Fine Gael/Labour coalition will fall considerably short of retaining an overall majority, leaving a scramble for negotiations involving a range of groups which may get under way almost as soon as the last ballots are cast tomorrow night.
Fianna Fail, Sinn Fein and the independents all seem set for gains, with Fine Gael probably still the largest single party, but the construction of a new administration is almost inevitably going to revolve around fraught negotiations.
What is essential is that voters go out and exercise their franchise, but many will suspect that they will end up repeating the process sooner rather than later.
