With the election so close to Christmas, the construction and agreement of a new coalition government before the end of the year was always unlikely. Understandably perhaps, there was no great effort expended by any of the parties to conclude negotiations by the time the 34th Dáil met for the first time on December 18th. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil did not even nominate anyone for taoiseach, while Sinn Féin’s decision to nominate Mary Lou McDonald was more about its desire to be seen as the leader of the opposition than any realistic attempt to form a government. And politicians, like everyone else, have been taking a break – much needed, perhaps, after an intense general election campaign – over the Christmas period.
Time to get back to work, though. The negotiations on forming the next administration and agreeing a programme for government need to move up a gear when the parties meet again in the coming days. It seems certain that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will form the basis of the next government, supported by Independents; the exact nature of the Independents’ role is not yet clear. Several have suggested that they want ministerial roles – either at the Cabinet or junior level – though this will all be part of the negotiating mx. Others will focus on projects and priorities in their own constituencies. Whatever is agreed in the latter respect, it is imperative that there is full transparency about what is involved. When deals are done, we need to know the price; after all, it is being paid out of public resources.
The informal deadline acknowledged by several of the protagonists is for a government to be ready to take office at the time of the inauguration of Donald Trump as the new president of the United States, which will happen on January 20th. The Dáil is scheduled to meet two days later, on January 22nd. That timescale may well prove tight; both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will require time to put any new agreement to their members to secure the backing of their wider party memberships.
With president-elect Trump promising a range of immediate measures on taking office – some of which may have a direct effect on the European Union and will require swift responses – it is important that a new government is in place as soon as possible after that date. The issues immediately facing the new government when it takes office will be familiar – housing, the cost of living, safety on the streets, pressure on the health service. In the medium term, the need to increase efforts to further reduce carbon emissions has not gone away just because the Green Party is not in office. The international security situation has seldom been more fraught. The new government will need to demonstrate new ideas and –– to coin a phrase – a new energy.