More than four months after the legislative elections in Ireland, and after long negotiations, two centrist parties and the Greens gave the green light in internal votes, Friday June 26, to a government agreement of tripartite coalition.
The Fianna Fail, the Fine Gael and the Green Party will therefore form a government without the nationalists of Sinn Fein, who came first. The program provides for a rotating executive direction.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, who won the first parliamentary group with 38 of the 160 seats, is expected to be appointed prime minister on Saturday until December 2022, during an extraordinary session in Parliament.
“We chose this path, it involves many challenges, said Mr. Martin, but on the other hand, it is also a moment of opportunity and a moment of hope for our people. “
Outgoing Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, whose party, Fine Gael, won 35 seats, has so far served as interim head of government. He is expected to take over the reins of the executive later. His party voted for the agreement at 80%, while Fianna Fail adopted it at 74%.
This alliance with the center right is a risky bet for the progressive formation that constitute the Greens, who had already participated in a coalition with the Fianna Fail in 2007 before withdrawing four years later. They had been erased from the political spectrum after the elections that followed in 2011, one of the reasons why they expected a “Tight result” during this internal vote, according to the Irish Times. In the end, the Green party – the only one to require a two-thirds majority – accepted the agreement at 76%.
Invoking the ” sense of responsibility “, its leader Eamon Ryan is committed to “Do everything he can” to get the country’s economy back on its feet, but also “Restore biodiversity and stop the madness that will result from climate change”.
Le Sinn Fein dance in opposition
The February elections upset the political landscape in Ireland, where the two centrist parties had been in power for a century. This time, the Fine Gael and the Fianna Fail needed the support of the 12 environmental deputies to reach the 80 seat threshold necessary for a parliamentary majority.
With a program anchored to the left, Sinn Fein, favorable to the reunification of the two Irish and formerly considered the political showcase of the IRA, a paramilitary group opposed to the British presence in Northern Ireland, came out on top with 24.5 % voices. But without having presented enough candidates, it only became the second political force in Parliament with 37 seats. Excluded from the government alliance concluded on Friday, it will become the main opposition force in Ireland.
“The political establishment has mobilized to keep us out”, reacted Friday evening its leader Mary Lou McDonald, adding that “These barriers” would not be sufficient for them “Stop”. “We are going to be the most effective opposition”, promised assistant chef Michelle O’Neill.
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