Monday, February 10, 2020

#IRELAND: Sinn Féin Makes Dramatic Advance In Election; But Forming Gov't Will Be Difficult

[world politics news]


In Ireland's national election this past weekend, the Sinn Féin Party, with overwhelming support from the youth vote and dissatisfaction with the government over housing shortage, did better than it ever has; while the two major parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, came up short in the popular vote count, which is still ongoing.

Fianna Fáil will likely retain the largest number of seats in the Díal, the nation's parliament, and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar retained his seat, but it's unclear whether he will remain the party's leader after the election results are tallied.

Sinn Fein will find it difficult to form a government in the Díal. A party will need 80 seats in order to form a government without a coalition. Sinn Fein only fielded 46 candidates in Saturday's election, however.

Sinn Féin party officials say their best hope is to seek partners in other left-leaning parties.

Fianna Fáil officials campaigned on not forming a coalition with any other party, especially Sinn Féin, but even with only partial results in, officials reportedly are softening their position on a coalition with Sinn Féin.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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