Fianna Fail’s Martin elected as Ireland’s PM

DUBLIN: Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin was elected Saturday as Ireland’s new prime minister, replacing Leo Varadkar as the country’s Taoiseach during a special sitting of the Dail parliament.

Martin’s election follows months of negotiations between his centre right party, Fine Gael and the Green Party, to reach an agreement following elections in February, before the onset of the coronavirus crisis.

“To be elected to serve as Taoiseach of a free republic is one of the greatest honours which anyone can receive,” Martin told the parliament. The 59-year-old will be formally appointed by Ireland’s president, Michael D Higgins, and is set to announce his ministers later in the day.

Martin takes over the role of Irish premier from Fine Gael’s Varadkar in an historic reconciliation of Ireland’s two major political parties which dates back to the foundation of the state a century ago. Under the agreement, Fine Gael is set to regain the post of Taoiseach at the end of 2022.

The two parties needed the support of the Greens to have a working majority in the Irish parliament, equating to around 80 seats. Fianna Fail was Ireland’s biggest party with 38 seats in the 160 seat chamber following February’s election, Fine Gael received 35 seats and the Greens 12.

The political deal excludes republicans Sinn Fein from power. The one-time fringe party won the popular vote with 24.5 per cent of first preference ballots, becoming the second-largest force in parliament and is expected to become the main opposition party.

Outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Civil War politics had ended in Ireland’s parliament, after political rivals agreed to form a historic governing coalition.

As Varadkar hands the reins to his former political rival, he told the Dail, which is sitting in the Convention Centre, that it is “an historic occasion”. “I believe Civil War politics ended a long time ago in our country, but today Civil War politics ends in our parliament,” Varadkar said.

“Two great parties coming together with another great party, the Green Party, to offer what this country needs, a stable government for the betterment of our country and for the betterment of our world.

“I look forward to the privilege of serving in government with those two parties, as does my party. For my own party Fine Gael, it’s an opportunity, a third term in government, something we’ve never been able to do before, three consecutive terms.

“The chance to protect what has been achieved and secured over the past nine years and also a second chance, an opportunity to get right some of the things that we didn’t get right in the years gone by. I’m up for that challenge.”

However, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said February was the change election, and Sinn Fein won more votes than any other party. She said Fianna Fail and Fine Gael conspired against the party to exclude it from government, and the voices of more than half a million people who voted for them. She described the coalition between the two parties as a “marriage of convenience”.

“Faced with the prospect of losing their grip on power, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have circled the wagons,” she said. Detailed negotiations on an agreement on shared priorities with Fine Gael and the smaller Green Party have been delayed by the coronavirus crisis.

The Dail was meeting in the unusual surroundings of a glass-fronted convention centre on Dublin’s River Liffey. The temporary change of venue from Leinster House was to enable social distancing and to allow all 160 public representatives to sit. Martin was to later meet Irish President Michael D Higgins at Dublin Castle to receive his seal of office. Ministers were also due to be appointed later on Saturday.

Martin will take over from Leo Varadkar in a historic reconciliation of a political feud with Fine Gael dating back to the foundation of the state a century ago. Fine Gael are due to retrieve the Taoiseach’s role at the end of 2022 under the terms of the coalition agreement.