No excuses: we need a new coalition now
THIS has been the most cynical, depressing and selfish week in the history of politics on this island. No one wants a second election, yet no one wants to commit to forming a government, so those of us who voted are forced to sit by and watch politics as theatre, and as farce.
The numbers are clearly there for a grand coalition of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, but those are not the only numbers. Other permutations are possible, but Sinn Féin appears not to want to go into government at all – ‘It’s a great time to be in opposition,’ said new TD Eoin Ó Broin.
Why can’t Sinn Féin rule with Fianna Fáil? If it can govern in the North with the DUP, surely it can compromise here, for the good of the country? But, no, there is currency here in staying out of government, because the party cynically believes it can increase support that way. When it boils down to it, they all do: main parties, independents and small parties.
On Thursday, we watched as no one secured enough votes to be taoiseach. That wasn’t a surprise, but it was also an affront to voters, who expect, demand, that their choices at the ballot box somehow result in the formation of an administration, no matter how unstable.
Time is not on our side. In the coming months Britain may leave the EU and the commensurate damage to our economy could be vast. Also on the horizon are a presidential election in the United States that, were it to result in the election of Donald Trump, could see huge pressure on US multinationals to bring jobs home.
There’s the prospect of another global recession, the slowdown in China, the constant threat of global terrorism. At home we need a budget agreed for 2017, and talks on it need to start not tomorrow, but right now.
You might think all these factors would concentrate minds. You might even believe protestations that everyone has the best interests of the country at heart. They don’t. What we have seen this week is the same old story – everyone watching their back to ensure their party comes first and the country comes a very poor second, an after-thought to self-interest.
This is not good enough. We are told it could be weeks, months even, before we have a government. Fianna Fáil is even floating the possibility of another election. What would that achieve? Even more stagnation, more stasis, prolonged misery. We do not have the luxury of time. We need a government and we need it now. Everyone who drags his or her heels should, if we have any sense left, be punished for inaction if they cannot conclude negotiations successfully, and soon.