Ireland’s new leader, Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny, has said the country is on “brink of fundamental change”
Ireland’s incoming leader has promised to work to renegotiate the country’s crippling 85bn euro bail-out next week.
Enda Kenny of Fine Gael said he would fight for a cheaper loan deal from the International Monetary Fund and Europe.
His party is now the largest in the 31st Irish parliament, the Dail.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein has won 13 seats so far in the Irish general election, a gain of eight on its representation in the last Dail.
Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Fein have all won record numbers of seats but FG’s rivals Fianna Fail suffered a crushing defeat. Mr Kenny said it was “a democratic revolution at the ballot box”.
Votes are still being counted but Fine Gael is expected to be the largest party in the Republic’s parliament, without having an overall majority.
Final numbers for the Dail parliament will not be decided until late on Sunday.
Mr Kenny plans to start fighting for a cheaper loan deal on 4 March when the European People’s Party, to which Fine Gael is affiliated, meets in Helsinki. He will follow that up at the European Council in Brussels the following week.
Mr Kenny said the IMF/EU bail-out was “a bad deal for Ireland and a bad deal for Europe”.
“We are not going to cry the poor mouth, other than to say the reality of this challenge is too much. I don’t want to talk about difficulties, I look for co-operation, consensus and support across Europe,” he said.
“We want to restore our pride at home and abroad. Our country is back in business.”
Analysis
Dublin is buzzing with speculation about a visit to Ireland by US President Barack Obama at the end of May.
The possible trip is likely to be discussed next month when Mr Kenny goes to Washington for the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations at the White House.
President Obama has distant Irish roots in the village of Moneygall in County Offaly.
If the president does go to Ireland, it may not be the only high-profile visit to Dublin this year.
The Queen may visit the Irish Republic for the first time, in a sign of how Anglo-Irish relations have been transformed by the peace process.
The incoming taoiseach also pledged to probe deep into the heart of the Irish banking crisis which has left the taxpayer saddled with crippling debts which some analysts believe could ultimately cost closer to 200bn euros.
“We do need to find exactly what went wrong here, who benefited from this and where decisions were made,” he said.
“This is bridging the gap between government and people – that chasm there was very bad for democracy.”
Meanwhile, Mr Kenny is weighing up options for a new government with his centre-right party Fine Gael on course to form a coalition with Labour, or a collection of independents if the numbers stack up.
He launched a fierce attack on the outgoing government, led by Fianna Fail, over its poor communications and lack of openness.
“I give you my guarantee that the incoming government is not going to leave the people in the dark about what is happening whether it is good or whether it is bad,” he said.
Mr Kenny, who secured the biggest single vote in the country in his Mayo constituency, said he wanted a quick resolution to talks on a new government.
Fine Gael is on course for 75 plus Dail seats, just a handful shy of majority single party government in the 166 strong Dail.
Irish politicsDominated by two parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, which emerged after Irish nationalists split over the 1921 Anglo-Irish TreatyFianna Fail was once seen as more centrist, Fine Gael as more conservative, but differences have blurredThe Labour Party was the traditional junior partner in coalitions until 1997The Green Party came into its own in 2007 when it joined Fianna Fail in coalitionSinn Fein, shunned by the mainstream because of its IRA connections, held nearly as many seats as the Greens in the outgoing parliament
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin put on a brave face and said he believed that Fine Gael had managed to secure support from floating voters.
“There’s a soft vote there for Fine Gael and Labour, just as there was for us for years,” he said.
The party’s biggest casualty was Mary Coughlan, the outgoing deputy prime minister, who was punished by voters in Donegal South-West as they opted to support an independent candidate in her own backyard.
Hers was one of several dynasties brought to a dramatic end.
“It’s been a very difficult day for all of my colleagues, many of whom have lost their seats,” she said.
Other big names to suffer included ministers Mary Hanafin, Barry Andrews and Conor Lenihan, himself from a powerful Fianna Fail family and brother of the outgoing finance minister Brian Lenihan who narrowly retained his own seat.
The Haughey name will also be absent from the Dail for the first time in 54 years after Fianna Fail’s Sean Haughey lost his seat.
The Greens – former coalition partners – were wiped out. None of their TDs – two of whom held Cabinet posts up until a few weeks ago – were brought back to the Dail.
Leader John Gormley had always faced a tough battle in Dublin South East and blamed his failure on being in a government which made savage cuts.
“We have suffered a major defeat, but the party will regroup, we will continue. We’re a party with a set of beliefs and values and a vision for the future. We have great people here. We’re going to rebuild this party,” he said.
Labour had one of its best ever performances with the prospect of supporting a coalition.
“That is the most likely outcome, there’s no doubt about that,” leader Eamon Gilmore said.
Fianna Fail have paid the political price for the EU/IMF bail-out
Sinn Fein has more than doubled its seats in the Dail with party president Gerry Adams topping the poll in Louth after giving up his Westminster seat for West Belfast.
Mr Adams said his party was on course for major gains: “I think the votes across the state show a significant amount of people support the position we have taken up.”
Their success in the Republic of Ireland was extended with seats right around the border including two TDs in Donegal.
Further left wing appeal came from the United Left Alliance – a loose collection of the Socialist Party and the self-styled People Before Profit.
It will take two days to complete the official count.
Many parts of the country saw a big increase in turnout on the 67% recorded in the last general election in 2007.
Without a separation of bank and sovereign debt we are sunk. No matter who sits in the parliament, with no removal of the private bank debt from the Irish taxpayer the country will default. The sharks will swoop in and buy up everything (property/state assets/bank assets), we descend into servitude. History repeating itself, will people ever learn?
Paul Nolan, Gorey, Wexford
It is a complete farce, it doesn’t really matter which party wins the election. The real power lies with the IMF, they essentially ‘own’ Ireland now. Fine Gael will just be the puppets of the EU bailiffs. Sad times indeed for once such a proud country.
Polly Bell, Cork, Ireland
As an Irish Citizen who works in the Republic and lives in the North (British controlled zone) I have taken quite a bit of interest in this election and looked back into the history to see how these parties formed. Whilst Fianna Fail can be partly blamed for the lack of banking regulation, trying to remain on the pigs back and for years ignored the EU with regard to economic overheating and unsustainable growth, they are not entirely at fault. Citizens must share some of the responsibility for this. They were happy to take the ridiculous loans and accepted the lunatic property valuations. The three main political parties don’t seem to have a clear ethos or identifiable set of beliefs and remarkable the only party that did expose their thinking was Sinn Fein. It was clear that in the republic they position themselves to the left and have made it clear that they will follow a largely socialist approach. This would be a massive departure from their stance in the north, which is largely neo-conservative. For Ireland to succeed, she needs to understand who she is and what she represents. They need to decide which system of government is best for the country. They need to decide if they want to serve the people or the banks and captains of industry. Its regrettable that a right winged party, Fine Gael, holds the upper hand and they are clearing now and historically a party who do not know if they are Irish or best suckling the teat of British colonialism. Hopefully Labour will find themselves, understand their roots and if in coalition will steer the country towards more non-offensive policies. Ireland needs to realise that its not a US state. It may have senators, a president and have 26 of its counties in a republic and a health system that checks your wallet before your pulse…hold on….maybe it needs to become the 51st state afterall 🙂
Brian Toner, Newry, Island of Ireland
Fianna Fail’s defeat is like the aftermath of an earthquake except in an earthquake there are only innocent victims. The last twelve months we have listened to one lie after another and the Irish people have finally woken up to the fact that when people in particular politicians lie they must be punished. It is such a shame that some of the party’s members were allowed to resign before the election and receive such huge sums of money as a reward for their lies and deceit.
Catherine Brown, Dublin , Ireland
Doesn’t matter who gets the ministerial car – Jean Claude Trichet is the commander in chief. We are just an EU fiefdom and this stage, here to pay the gambling debts of French, German and UK banks.
Ewan Duffy, Celbridge, Kildare, Ireland
Wholly deserved.
Stuart, Tavira, Portugal
There was only one person I talked to on my recent trip home who admitted she was going to vote for Fianna Fail, she said: “I know they are awful, but I can’t bring myself to vote for anyone else.” This is the attitude of someone who supports a football team and sticks by them no matter what to do and cannot vote for a rival. It would be like a Manchester United supporter being dissatisfied with their team and supporting Liverpool instead – they simply cannot bring themselves to do it. Fianna Fail understands this mentality as is shown by a frequent slogan of theirs: “Vote for the winning team.” Only when people realise that politics needs to be taken more seriously than sport can this mentality be changed.
Diarmuid, Paris, France
Fianna Fail went on the “payroll” of the financial services sector and promoted and magnified the worst excess of financial practices that let to Ireland’s sever recession. Then Fianna Fail compounded the problem by lying to everyone about the real state if the Irish Government’s finances, leaving Ireland exposed to the harsh terms of the EU bailout that will haunt Ireland for years to come. Fianna Fail’s electoral disaster is well earned.
Michael Flynn, Philadelphia, USA
The people are angry so they hit out at the ruling party, however the winner in this election like Obama over here will be accepting a poisoned chalice. Any fool can govern when things are good, the only answer for Mother Eire is to default and let the financial sector clean up its own mess.
Chris Brennan, Boston, Massachusetts
Whoever wins, it won’t change the size of the debt.
Joe Ryan, Nogent, France
Delighted to see a Fine Gael led Goverment with Labour, between them they should have about 110 seats, in the Dail (parliament|) which will give our country stability.
John Mayne, Limerick, Ireland
Well said Polly Bell from Cork. Its about time ‘the people’ – those poor subjugated victims of the financial services industry took a bit of responsibility for their own property greed. Time to stop bleating at the politicians and bankers. Anybody who participated in what was obviously a property bubble must accept their fair share of the blame before Ireland can move on. The same goes for the USA, UK, Spain and Portugal. Personally I am not seeing anything that looks like the kind of leadership necessary emerging from this election but for Ireland’s sake I hope I’m wrong.
Francis Power, London, UK
Now Kenny will have to perform, he can’t just whine. People must not blame the IMF for the problems of the country but they should look inside their own heads. It was the Irish people who kept electing TDs who don’t understand their roles as national policy makers and not pot hole fillers or getting people their GMS cards. We need stable income which means everyone must file an income tax report and pay property rates. User pays must be implemented.
Keith Parrott, Killarney, Co Kerry, Ireland
We’re all doomed! That’s what my mam tells me – this election was not about who can remady the economic catastrophe but very much about punishing an entranched elite who got rich off the cetic tiger and messed it up, big time for everyone else. Ireland is indeed sitting a rather long and uncomfortable class at the school of hard knocks and tough surprises, its children may be playing truant and heading for the private tuition of Canada and Australia but the lesson will be remembered. I spent my adolescence in the West of Ireland from age 10 in 1995 emigrating from London. Even at that age I could sense the gap in wealth and living standards compared to the relative comfort of growing up in a single parent family in Croydon. Firsthand, I saw the boom transform a rural, working poor society into a confident, aspirational nation. In the years after returning to London in 2001 I was amazed at friends wheeling dealing talk of flats, properties, buying up Bulgaria and trips to Thailand – I was to say a little envious – me just in my first graduate job felt as if they where racing ahead. Trips back home involved enduring endless one-upmanship talk of assets and their ‘big plans’ for retirement. Heading back his Christmas was the most depressing stinker of an affair, mixed with utter disbelief at the self delusion of folks thronging shopping centres weighed down by presents, still spending money that was not theirs seemingly oblivious that several weeks ago their nation accepted a damming international bailout. Job lost, business failed, home gone, girlfriend deserted, wife and children moved in with grandparents. With luck and my feet on the ground I am one of Lord Young’s ‘Never had it so good’ – the last three years was something that happened to somebody else. Sure I am sill part of the jilted generation but that’s ok. Loans, none, negative equity, what’s that? We moan about libraries while Ireland debates the existence of entire hospitals. Ours was an Irish generation told we’d never have to leave home and endure the relative shame of having a nation unable to sustain our aspirations. People I know are shell-shocked at the prospect of an unknown future in foriegn shores and with pain to endure for at least a decade, many envision never returning. For those that do stay and the new government, god bless and good luck. The Irish are some of the hardest working and caring people on the face of the Earth, they have had a short sharp lesson of the power of modern world economics whilst making huge strides in their quality of life and they will be better for it. However, ask a 30-year-old Irishman in 15 years whether it was all worth it and it will be an undoubted yes.
Declan Wilkes, 27, London, formerly of Quilty, Co. Clare ROI
The Irish people aren’t punishing FF for the end of the Celtic Tiger, they are punishing them for their relationship with builders, their mismanagement of the banks, their encouragement of the bubble that lead to the burst.
Joe, Brussels, Belgium
I don’t know why Ewan Duffy is blaming the UK ‘gambling debts’ for the financial crisis in Ireland. The UK isn’t even in the euro and hasn’t been bailed out by the IMF. In fact it has been asked to bail out countries such as Ireland, Portugal and Greece to the tune of many millions of pounds sterling. The Irish taxpayers may find repaying the national debt tough, but the British taxpayer is being penalised too, and not just for their own debt.
Teresa Snow, Newton Abbot, Devon, England
I agree with Michael Flynn from Philadelphia: default would be in the Irish public interest. The bailout is a wealth transfer from common people to the perpetrators of this mess – and only makes them richer. One should not assist at one’s own hanging. Especially not when the real criminals not only get off scott free. but profit in the process. It is time for Western citizenries to lose their fear of corporate overlords, just as Arab citizenries are losing their fear of dictators.
Alex Antypas, Budapest, Hungary
As an Irish citizen I was very excited for this election. Fianna Fail have been in power for too long and have taken elections and the people for granted. I can only hope this huge defeat will make them look at themselves and that they will be a constructive opposition. I am delighted to see the amount of independants elected and I think this will make the Dail much better as I would hope these independants will vote with the government when they are doing things that are the interest of the people and vote against when they think the government is not doing right by the people. This Dail could be the most effective for having a strong opposition and policies will be better formulated for it. i can see light at the end of the tunnel for Ireland.
THOMAS JOHNSTON, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
The election is a sideshow really. The IMF run Ireland now. Fianna Fail got what they deserved but the unfortunate reality is the sheer scale of our debt means that it is going to be almost impossible for the new government to get us back on our feet. I fear Ireland is heading in to a spiral of debt. The more we try to fix the problem, the worse it will get. The only hope is to default on the bank debt and honour our sovereign debt. Those who stupidly lent money to our banks to inflate the property market can’t expect tax payers to pay for their ineptitude.
Kieran Leddy, Dublin
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