Real opposition politics beckons in Ireland for the first time
tell a lot about the slow-changing culture of Irish politics from the names of its three largest parties. Micheal Martin, who took over as prime minister this week after months of deadlock, has led Fianna Fail, or the “Warriors of Destiny”, for nine years. His predecessor as taoiseach , Leo Varadkar, drops to deputy prime minister, but could swap jobs with Mr Martin again if their new coalition lasts more than two years. Mr Varadkar’s party is Fine Gael, the “Tribe of the Gaels”.
In the rest of Europe, blood-and-soil nationalism mostly went out of fashion after 1945. But Ireland avoided both fascism and the second world war, so its party names still echo the fervour of early-20th-century separatism. Armed uprisings won independence from Britain for most of Ireland in 1922, and Fianna Fail and Fine Gael emerged out of rival Sinn Fein factions in the subsequent short but bitter civil war.
Yet probably not for much longer. For most of its history Fianna Fail, which has always had a more populist streak, could aspire to winning outright majorities in the Dail, Ireland’s parliament. Fine Gael, a little more posh and a little less loud, had to make coalition deals.
Sinn Fein’s leader, Mary Lou McDonald, complains that the new coalition is a “conspiracy” to foil the people’s will, but with the Dail now aligned for the first time on a left-right axis, she will relish the chance to score points against a government with a difficult job that is likely to be unpopular.
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