More than four months after the legislative elections in Ireland, MEPs elected the leader of the center-right Fianna Fail party, Micheal Martin, on Saturday. He will lead a coalition government with the rival centrist Fine Gael and the Greens.
The members of these three formations had given the green light Friday to a coalition agreement. These parties agreed to form a government without the Sinn Fein nationalists, who came out on top in the February elections.
The coalition government will have a rotating leadership. Micheal Martin, whose Fianna Fail is the largest parliamentary group with 38 of the 160 seats, becomes the first head of government until December 2022. He succeeds Leo Varadkar, the leader of the centrist rival Fine Gael, who should return at the head of the government on that date.
Coronavirus control
In order to respect the measures of social distancing against the new coronavirus, the deputies met Saturday in an unusual way in a congress center of Dublin to elect Micheal Martin, by 93 votes against 63 and three abstentions).
Also read Prime Minister of Ireland announces resignation
After this vote, Mr. Martin went to Aras an Uachtarain, the residence of Irish President Michael D. Higgins who was to officially appoint him Prime Minister or “Taoiseach”.
Speaking just after his election, Micheal Martin said that fighting the pandemic would be his government’s priority in the coming months. He recalled that “2278 people on this island lost their lives”. Despite “significant progress” since March, “the fight against the virus is not over. We must continue to contain its spread. We must be ready to face any new wave, “he continued.
Emergency measures
Micheal Martin explained that Ireland is facing the fastest recession that has ever hit it and that urgent measures are needed to allow an economic recovery. “There are restrictions that will stay in place for a while and no one can say today when we will return to something closer to normal.” But we can and must do much more to help our society and our economy recover, ”he added.
The new Prime Minister also spoke of other challenges, which date from before Covid-19 and remain, such as access to affordable housing and the climate crisis.
Historic breakthrough of Sinn Fein
The February elections had changed the political landscape in Ireland. With a program anchored to the left, Sinn Fein, favorable to reunification with Northern Ireland, came out on top with 24.5% of the voters. But without having presented enough candidates, it is only the second political force in Parliament with 37 seats.
On this subject Sinn Féin’s victory, one step closer to the unification of Ireland
The two centrist parties that have taken turns in power for a century this time needed the support of the twelve environmental deputies to reach the 80 seat threshold necessary for the constitution of a parliamentary majority.
Before the deputies, Leo Varadkar described as “historic” the alliance between the two centrist parties, whose rivalry dates back to the civil war of 1922. He said he was “impatient to serve in the government”.
Sinn Fein chief Mary Lou McDonald has accused these parties of ignoring voters’ desire for change. Before the deputies, she compared their union to a “marriage of reason” intended to preserve power.
–
