The second time is the charm. He Parliament of Ireland (Dáil) has elected this Thursday Michael Martin as prime minister following the chaos of the previous day, which forced House Speaker Verona Murphy to suspend the inauguration session. The controversy broke out after the attempt to four independent deputies to sit on the bench opposition despite lending his parliamentary support to the Executivesomething that the opposition parties, led by the nationalists of Sinn Féin, rejected outright. The two parties have finally reached an agreement that prevents independent deputies from having a group in the opposition for now.
Martin’s party, the centrist Fianna Fáilrenewed the coalition agreement with the center-right formation Fine Gaelic –led by the until now prime minister, Simon Harris– after the elections last November. The two parties then remained at the doors of the absolute majoritysomething that has forced them to seek the support of nine independent deputies. Five of them have been integrated into the Government, while the other four will only provide their parliamentary support. His intention to continue questioning the Executive from the opposition bench has been trigger of the crisis that shook Parliament this Wednesday.
“I welcome the fact that the Government has finally recognized that there has to be a differentiation between government and opposition. No MP can be on both sides at the same time,” said the Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonaldwho described the Executive’s position the day before as “arrogant.” The other two main opposition parties, the Labor Party and the Social Democratic Party, have also shown their satisfaction with the agreement reached.
New Government
Martin has finally been appointed prime minister with 95 votes in favor y 76 against. According to the agreement reached with Fine Gael – which they already implemented in the previous legislature –, the new prime minister will hold office until 2027 with Harris as deputy prime minister, while the two leaders They will exchange places in the second half of the legislature, whose end is scheduled for 2030. The new Executive will have 15 ministers and 23 secretaries of State.
In his speech after the appointment, Martin expressed his willingness to strengthen relationships with the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States despite the uncertainty caused by the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House. “We will not be cowed in our support for the protection of freedom and democracy in Europe,” said the new prime minister. Martin has assured that his Government will not be “naive” about recent changes at the international level, but has offered his hand to the new US administration.
At the internal level, the new Executive will have to face a housing crisis which is causing enormous social unrest, especially among the youngest, as well as the rise of speeches against immigration and asylum seekers. Some speeches spread through social networks and have caused violent protests in recent months. The country is going through a sweet moment in macroeconomic terms, with forecasts of economic growth 4% in 2025 and 3.6% in 2026, according to data from the European Commission.
