Left can’t do it, says Martin after Leo talks
MICHEÁL Martin came out of his government talks with Leo Varadkar yesterday afternoon and said a left-wing administration is now ‘very unlikely’.
‘Very clearly, you can see the so-called left-wing alliance that was trumpeted over a week hasn’t really made any progress in terms of numbers in the Dáil,’ the Fianna Fáil leader said, after his first meeting with the Fine Gael leader since the general election.
‘It remains a very unlikely scenario in terms of any combination of the far left or Sinn Féin emerging with any credible numbers to form a government.’
He added: ‘Today’s meeting was a preliminary meeting with the Taoiseach. We are absolutely clear on who we are going into discussions with. We have agreed to meet again and there will be some reflection on today’s discussion.’
He also met the newly formed Regional Independent Group, made up of nine TDs, and said it was a constructive meeting.
‘The clear message from the Independents was that they wanted a stable government that would last five years to deal with the key issues of housing and health and regional economic development,’ he added. ‘We pointed out that we begin [today] serious engagements with the Greens on a range of policy issues with our negotiating team and members of our front bench.’
Mr Martin also said no-one has ruled out a reverse confidenceand-supply arrangement between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
He added: ‘There are two aspects to that: could you achieve a critical mass that could sustain under a confidence-and-supply arrangement, and secondly, would the dynamic be such that it would enable that government to take decisions that, I think, will be needed to make meaningful inroads on the housing crisis and on the health crisis and also climate change?’
After yesterday’s meeting, Fine Gael issued a statement saying the two parties ‘exchanged views on a number of matters including housing, climate change, health, cost of living, the economy and taxation’ - but added: ‘Fine Gael continues to prepare for Opposition.’ However, Tánaiste Simon Coveney warned that the coronavirus and Brexit negotiations had added further urgency to forming a government.