In Ireland, after four months of negotiations, the Fianna Fail Party leader has been elected Prime Minister. But not for long: In 2022, the premier’s office will go to the coalition partner.
After four months of negotiations, Fianna Fail Party’s leader Micheal Martin was elected new Prime Minister on Saturday in Ireland. He replaces Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach, as the head of government in Ireland is called.
With their unusual alliance with the Greens, the two formerly hostile center-right parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fail kept left Sinn Fein out of the government.
Exceptionally, during a special session, the election was held in a congress center in the capital, Dublin, in order to be able to comply with the Corona precautionary measures. Martin explained that coping with the corona crisis was the most important task in the coming months. “The fight against the virus is not over,” he said.
59-year-old Martin is now said to be officially appointed by Irish President Michael D. Higgins. In the afternoon, he is supposed to present his cabinet. According to the coalition agreement, the Fine Gael party of outgoing Leo Varadkar will again provide the head of government from 2022, which could mean his return.
For a majority, the two parties need the Greens’ votes. All three coalition partners had previously approved the unusual alliance in internal votes. In Fine Gael, 80 percent of the members voted in favor, while in Fianna Fail it was 74 percent.
Fragmented parliament
A fragmented parliament emerged from the parliamentary election in February. Fianna Fail became the strongest force with 38 of the 160 parliamentary seats. Fine Gael won 35 seats. The Greens have twelve mandates and were therefore able to secure a number of concessions from the major allies.
However, there are reservations in the environmental party, because after the Greens formed an alliance with Fianna Fail in 2007, they lost all of their six seats in the parliament in the 2011 parliamentary election.
The left-wing Sinn Fein now remains the role as the strongest opposition force. The party was once considered a political wing of the armed underground organization IRA and strives for a united Ireland – with Northern Ireland, which is part of Great Britain.
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