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 `` bigger '' than Fianna Fáil , who had been the dominant force in Irish politics for 40 years .
By 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 `` bigger '' than Fianna Fáil , an unprecedented achievement .