UK media watching like a hawk

THE UK media has been keeping a close eye on the stalemate between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

The ‘Express’ headline put it succinctly yesterday: ‘Ireland on edge of COLLAPSE: ‘Some progress’ made but could see snap election NEXT MONTH’.

The newspaper said talks continue “as the country stands on the brink of a Brexit-blocking snap election”. “And if the Irish are forced to go to the polls this would throw the British government’s Brexit talks with the European Union into uncertainty,” it added.

The ‘Telegraph’ noted that Ireland’s administration “has to survive the no-confidence vote so it can stabilise itself domestically”.

Bloomberg focused on how the talks would affect the deadline facing the British prime minister. “Theresa May has a week to find a compromise on the conflicting Brexit demands from the North and Ireland, just as a political scandal threatening the Irish Government could further undermine her chances of success,” it said.

“(Varadkar) is fighting for his own political survival, as his team steps up efforts to avoid an election that could harden positions on Brexit.”

‘The Daily Mail’ site reported on the rise in sterling, which posted its “biggest weekly rise” in more than a month as “investors worried about Brexit negotiations next month in the light of a political crisis in Ireland”. “A deal on the Northern Ireland Border – a key demand by EU policymakers – has suddenly become trickier as the Dublin Government looked set to fall,” the online site added.