Under FitzGerald, Fine Gael experienced a rapid rise in support and popularity. After the November 1982 election it held only five seats fewer than Fianna Fáil (their closest ever margin until 2011; at times Fianna Fáil was nearly twice as large), with Fine Gael in the Oireachtas than Fianna Fáil, who had been the dominant force in Irish politics for 40 years.