No time for the same old politics as historic coalition gets chance to bring about real change

THIS newspaper has been vocal in its criticism of how long it took three parties to coalesce and form this historic Government. We will never be convinced such an arduous journey was necessary, or that the ensuing uncertainty will ever be justified.

Today, though, let us not dwell on that. Micheál Martin is now the 15th man (and, yes, they all have been men) to lead the country since independence almost a century ago. The task he faces is as tough as any that has gone before, and likely even more so.

On his Government’s To-Do list is a range of monumental tasks that would make Hercules shudder. These include the issues of housing and health, which saw his party and Fine Gael lose the confidence of the electorate and emerge from the polls in a three-way tie with Sinn Féin.

The UK has formally left the European Union, but the postBrexit trade deal, and especially its implications for this island, have not, and will not go away any time soon. The economic fallout from that has been overlaid with the cataclysmic effect on the national finances caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and there are many challenges arising in any post-Covid recovery, including the provision of adequate childcare and a safe return to school and work.

This Government is historic in its abandonment of the Civil War politics that stunted the nation’s political development for too long. Historic too in that Mr Martin was elected not in

Leinster House, but in the National Convention Centre to ensure social distancing.

To earn its own place in the history books, this Government is going to require equally historic behaviour. Gone is the time for same old, same old politics.

Martin and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, aided by the Greens, are tasked now with introducing radical solutions to endemic problems. Voters want change. While we reject any suggestion a Dáil majority does not reflect the will of the electorate, we would caution that the future of the parties now in Government is irreconcilably linked to their performance in the next five years.

Ultimately, the Green Party passed the Programme for Government comfortably. Hopefully, this will mean the same Programme for Government can provide a guiding document to ensure we don’t lurch from crisis to crisis in the difficult times ahead.

Green Party members saw real gains for their movement that were not obvious to some of their parliamentarians.

Their Oireachtas representatives should take the message that half a loaf is better than no bread at all. The interests of the country are best served by five years of stable government (although after all the formation dithering, it will really be fourand-a-half years).

This paper has not shied away from criticising Mr Varadkar’s government and its multiple, serial failings. However, it is worth pointing out that his legacy will be defined, at least in part, by the capable handling of the Covid-19 crisis thus far.

Mr Martin is to be congratulated on becoming Taoiseach. He can be assured he will be afforded the same courtesies by this paper as his predecessors.

We will continue to do our job, making sure our elected leaders do theirs. And while it may have taken a while to get to the finish line, we remind them, that this is in fact only the beginning.