Fianna Fail’s leader has hailed his party’s General Election performance, but insisted he will let the “dust settle” on the results before turning his thoughts to government formation. With Micheal Martin’s party on course to secure the most seats in the Dail parliament, speculation is intensifying around the potential make-up of the next coalition in Dublin. After two days of counting following Friday’s poll, and with more than 130 of the 174 seats filled by Sunday evening, the return of an administration involving Fianna Fail and Fine Gael now looks a much more likely prospect than any government including the long-time main opposition party, Sinn Fein.
The two centre-right parties that have dominated Irish politics for a century, and who shared power in the last coalition, both ruled out governing with Sinn Fein before the election, so it seems unlikely that either would countenance that option if they could form a workable coalition together. Speaking to reporters in Cork on Sunday night, Mr Martin said it had been a “good day for Fianna Fail”. Hours earlier, he said he needed to take a walk to think through the possibilities around government formation.
Asked later in the evening if he now had a clearer picture, Ireland’s deputy premier said: “I didn’t get the walk yet – that may be tomorrow morning. “I think the sensible thing is to await the completion of all counts.” He added: “We’ll let the dust settle and savour the moment.
We’ll th.
