Grudging acceptance of need for historic coalition
LUKEWARM LOCAL SUPPORT BUT RECOGNITION OF NEED FOR STABILITY
AS historic rivals Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael prepare to form a coalition government, the elected members of the two parties across Wicklow appear to have resigned themselves to the merger, rather than embrace it whole-heartedly.
Indeed, if another election were possible, that may well have been the direction they would have taken.
The overwhelming response from councillors and TDs across County Wicklow, be they FF or FG, is that there is an urgent need for stability for the foreseeable future.
Their outgoing ‘confidence and supply’ arrangement was made also with stability in mind.
For many of the grass roots members, a fully-fledged coalition would have been unthinkable following the general election just over three months ago.
Fine Gael’s Shay Cullen alone expressed reservations based on the party potentially losing its identity.
Fianna Fáil won the largest number of seats in February, at 38. Fine Gael won 25 and the Green Party 12. Sinne Féin, sent to Coventry for the current talks, won 37 seats.
As talks to negotiate a programme for government get under way, with the Green Party a third and most vital member of the group, the circumstances surrounding the formation of a government are the first of their kind.
Minister of Health Simon Harris, whom one councillor said should not be in the next government, is cautiously welcoming the partnership in the name of stability, with the current government not in a sustainable position.
For him, the recovery of the economy following an unprecedented national and international emergency, is the priority for those who take on the running of the country for what he hopes is the next five years.
His counterpart in Fianna Fáil, health spokesperson Stephen Donnlly, has little time for civil war politics, and insists that a programme for government must address the greatest challenge of our time.
While Deputy Donnelly suggests that the talks will require ‘vision, commitment, compromise and strength’, from all sides, it is the ‘compromise’ that will trouble most stakeholders.
Cllr Melanie Corrigan said that in her experience the members work well together locally. She hopes that such a spirit of cooperation can be mirrored at a national level. Similarly, Cllr Aoife Flynn-Kennedy said that she will work hard with anyone, regardless of their party, for the benefit of the community.
The contentious Green Party goal of 7 per cent carbon reduction was the subject of some concern, with Cllr Derek Mitchell calling for specifics on how that could be achieved, as well as support for improved public transport and offshore wind.
While talks have yet to produce a government of any kind, elected representatives across the county are appearing to settle for a lesser evil, rather than face an impossible election.
With extraordinary difficulties before communities across the country, including the still-present risks of Brexit, they tend to approve of a swift move forward to address the economic and health crises, and expedite the process of rebooting a nation.