Irish Election - Coverage of Irish Politics, News and Current Affairs

So despite my prediction that the PD’s would be unable to put Fine Gael or Fianna Fail in power, it looks like they could be putting both parties in. Go fig. But if the PD’s are going to chose a coalition which one is best.

My name is Maman Poulet and I’m a recovering election blogger. It’s been a few days since my last blogging round up, and the politician bloggers are still blogging so I thought I’d round them up for ye.
Joan Burton had fish, chips and left over chablis to celebrate her re-election on Friday, she avoided the [...]

Ciaran Cuffe posts about winning, just. He is also very frank on the matter of coalition with Fianna Fail  but there is a but.
Let’s be clear. A deal with Fianna Fáil would be a deal with the devil. We would be spat out after 5 years, and decimated as a Party. But, … would it [...]

Both Mark Hennessy, in his Correspondent blog and RTE news tell us that lawyers, acting for Bertie at the Mahon Tribunal, have accused the Tribunal of allowing itself to become part of a malicious campaign against the Taoiseach. Shock and/or Horror!

While Mr Ahern is certainly in pole position in the race to form a new Government, it would be unwise to rule out Mr Kenny’s opportunity at this early stage.
RTÉ have reported today that Jackie Healy-Rae, Finian McGrath and Tony Gregory have all been contacted by Fine Gael, but not yet by Fianna Fáil. [...]

How big an influence is this likely to have on Government formation?
RTE are reporting the Tribunal has found ‘discrepancies’ in payments made to Bertie Ahern, one of which has not arisen in the leaks to the press pre-election. The Tribunal reveal that from their examination of the bank records, the £30,000 sterling transaction could not [...]

Finian McGrath has come out and said from Breakingnews.ie
Mr McGrath is one of the independents likely to be courted by Fianna Fáil, but he said today that he believes the Taoiseach is engaging in “distraction politics”. He is the master of it and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is really doing business behind the [...]

It bears reminding that the Mahon tribunal resumes tomorrow. Examine the witness list for a sense of the potential landmines lurking within this evidence. Even if one takes the view that the 42 percent FF vote didn’t care about the underlying issues, other voters care and so do potential coalition partners. So [...]

The body strives for that which sickens the mind with love…
Stretches out toward that which smites it, and yearns to couple.” (Lucretius, In the Realm of the Senses, 4.1048)

For all the talk of a presidential campaign - for all the Lunz cuntz focus groups and “Dream On Baby” slipup scoops- this election boiled down to [...]

So the votes have been counted. The Irish people have opted for a continuation of a third-world hospital system, schooling characterised by inequality and class over-crowding, and the perpetuation of a “cute hoor” culture with significant levels of background corruption and the protection of criminality and illegality so long as the perpetrators are party members, [...]

Gerry Adams concedes that his party faces a lot of work in the next two years before the council elections in 2009. The sheer size of the gap between current political reality and the party’s own ambition is easily seen when you consider that its performance compares unfavourably with the Alliance party in Northern Ireland. [...]

In yesterday’s Irish Times Deaglán de Bréadún comes up with as good a reason for Michael McDowell’s demise, as TD, leader of his party, and Tanaiste as any offered elsewhere. He argues, in particular, that his responses to a media onslaught on Ahern over ‘Bertiegate’ allegations leaked from the Mahon Tribunal were highly erratic:

Time for us all to think about our individual winners and losers of the campaign – feel free to do your own lists in the comments – I’m picking a few who come to mind and one for who the jury is still out for as far as I’m concerned. (Note I’m mentioning [...]

Make of it what you will, the Green’s (clearly not reading Mark Hennessy’s blog) have just sent out a press release on their government options (below the fold and unedited-to allow for fullest interpretation by readers);

This just came into the text but the technology is not playing ball with publishing it, so it gets a post.
“Congrats to Bertie with his unequivocal success. I always knew he would do it. I’m a prominent F.F member and i telling you now: Gregory will be Ceann Comhairle, Harney will keep health and Cowen [...]