Thanks, Leo, for saying the unsayable
LEO VARADKAR has never been afraid to rattle the political cage. It is therefore no surprise that he should be the first senior member of Fine Gael to raise the possibility of entering coalition with Fianna Fáil after the next general election.
But while others, most notably Enda Kenny and Micheál Martin, might still prefer to dodge the issue, there is no doubt that, in an increasingly fractured political landscape, such a ‘Grand Coalition’ is becoming a likely scenario.
The last general election and this year’s European and local elections have made it abundantly clear that Civil War politics has had its day. Rather than blindly following family tradition, voters nowadays go the polls with a shopping list – and vote accordingly.
As a result, we have seen a rising tide in support for independents and for the parties of the far left. But the biggest beneficiaries have been Sinn Féin – a pattern that, despite recent controversies, shows no sign of changing.
The great majority of voters, however, would still have serious difficulty in stomaching the prospect of Sinn Féin – a party that remains tarnished by a legacy of bloodshed, extortion and, most recently, the systemic cover-up of sexual assault – at the Cabinet table.
The only realistic alternative is a grand coalition. Labour, by its own admission, faces a virtual wipe-out in the next election. Fine Gael too will suffer and Fianna Fáil, although on the ascendent remains small and ineffective.
It is just about possible that either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil could cobble together some sort of coalition with whatever is left of Labour and a raggle-taggle collection of misfits and extremists. But it is hardly a blueprint for stable government.
By contrast, a Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil coalition has the potential to create a new paradigm in Irish politics: a strong centrist government and a clear division between left and right, such as that which defines politics in most other democracies.
At the very least, this is an important debate that needs to be had. Mr Varadkar has done us all a favour by initiating it.