After all the talk, it’s time to deliver
THE election of a new Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party coalition Government is a welcome development after prolonged negotiations which took place in the midst of a period of great uncertainty for the country caused by the coronavirus pandemic. A fair wind is wished to the new administration, with the caveat that there will be little or no time for a honeymoon period. If ever a Government is required to hit the ground running, this is the time. Ireland is facing into a most difficult series of months and years arising out of the Covid-19 crisis, and in advance of a looming final determination on Brexit, not to mention an array of other issues which gave rise to such an unexpected outcome to the general election in the first place.
In light of the failure of Sinn Fein to put together a radical government of the left, as was its stated preferred intention after the election, it is to the credit of Fianna Fail and Fine
Gael that both parties quickly put aside generations of rivalry and occasional animosity between them — not to mention a level of modern-day resistance within their own ranks — to negotiate the outline of an agreed deal; and to the equal if not greater credit of the Green Party to enter into three-party talks on that deal to agree a programme for government; and of the membership of all three parties to support entering into government in such a decisive fashion to implement that programme.
The Greens took the decision despite some determined opposition from within its membership and in the face of an opposition which stood to one side rather than participate in talks to form a Government in a time of real need for the country. That said, there is now a clear alternative to the current Government should the public decide to go down a more radical path in the future, led by Sinn Fein and containing the far left, which is expected to provide the most robust opposition in many years.
To the issues referred to — Covid-19 and Brexit — we can add the climate emergency which is a crisis no longer of the future but clear and of the present day. Undoubtedly, this was the single greatest motivation, firstly behind the significant vote achieved by the Greens in the election and secondly behind the resolve of the party’s leadership and membership to participate in this Government. As the Greens said in its election manifesto, the next 10 years are critical if we are to address the climate and biodiversity crisis which threatens our safe future on this planet.
The most pressing urgency facing the new Government is to lead the country towards economic recovery after the Covid-19 lockdown. This will be no easy task, but it is likely to have the support of the vast majority of the public, which understands the reasons behind the crisis. Alongside this emergency, Brexit will return centre stage later in the year. Further to these are issues which were central to the recent election, not least the two-tier health service which performed magnificently as one to contend with Covid-19 and the housing and homelessness issue which is showing some signs of improvement. The new Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, to whom congratulations are extended, has often said the diagnoses of problems is the easy part and that the delivery of solutions to those problems is what is necessary. If this Government is to adopt a by-word by which it should gauge its progress, then that word is surely “delivery”. The time for talk is at an end. The country is facing into too many issues, wide-ranging in nature, the outcome of which is hugely important to all our futures. It is time to deliver.