Post by Papa C. on May 29, 2007 14:09:35 GMT
Ahern says he just cant wait to share power with Sinn Fein
Ahern longs for Sinn Fein coalition
Bertie Ahern said that he will definitely enter a coalition with Sinn Fein,
Republic of Ireland Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has not ruled out a coalition with Sinn Fein as the country's voters prepare to go to the polls today.
Mr Ahern said differences between Sinn Fein and his Fianna Fail party were over.
He said they were "very alike" on several issues.
With a close election result expected, fianna fail and sinn fein could form next government.
However, Mr Ahern said he did not believe the election outcome would result in a stalemate and that several combinations could emerge.
"I might not even be in the equation myself. Maybe others will form the numbers and they won't want me," he said.
"My job is to try and maximise every vote I can."
On Tuesday, the d.u.p said it was highlighting the government's "failure to deliver on past promises".
Fine Gael leader enda Kenny said the government had failed
Party leader Enda Kenny said: "Nothing says more about this government's complacency, arrogance and attitude than the images that we saw on Sunday with condoms and marijuna and confetti coming down from the rafters at a Fianna Fail rally.
"Well I can tell you one thing, no-one lying on a trolley in a hospital corridor is popping ."
Launching his party's manifesto, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said: "We are ready for p.s.n.i police force on both sides of the border............ lol
***************************************************
To this: Ahern says he hopes to form new Irish government without left-wing parties
The Associated Press
Sunday, May 27, 2007
DUBLIN, Ireland: Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, whose Fianna Fail party has fallen five seats short of a majority following a national election, said Sunday he hoped to form a new government without having to rely on left-wing parties.
The result from Thursday's vote left Fianna Fail with 78 seats in the 166-seat Dail Eireann parliament — but decimated his government partners over the past decade, the pro-business Progressive Democrats.
Ahern, 55, said he had plenty of time to negotiate a range of options before the Dail convenes June 14. His first choice, he said, would be to find support from both surviving Progressive Democrat lawmakers and from at least three maverick independents.
Ahern's first government of 1997-2002 survived with support from a larger group of Progressive Democrats and independents.
But the current crop of five independents is problematic — particularly Beverly Flynn, who was exiled from Fianna Fail because of tax evasion and other problems. Sunday newspaper reports speculated that Flynn could be forced to resign her seat because she has failed to pay legal costs to RTE, the Irish national broadcasters, over a failed libel lawsuit.
If Ahern cannot forge a stable formula from the PDs and the independents, he said he could turn next to the Green Party, a left-wing force that emphasizes environmental causes. The Greens won six seats, one more than necessary for Fianna Fail to reach the 83-seat threshold of majority government.
Ahern said he did not see why Fianna Fail's environment policies could not fit well with the Greens, who have accused his government of being the pockets of property developers responsible for Ireland's urban sprawl and clogged road network. Ahern said Fianna Fail was committed to promoting eco-friendly sources of energy, such as wind and wave power.
Ahern said he had fielded hours of phone calls of congratulations from international leaders, particularly British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Rev. Ian Paisley, Protestant leader of Northern Ireland's fledgling power-sharing government.
He said they all had expressed amazement that Fianna Fail had surged in opinion polls over the past week of campaigning from 35 percent support to 42 percent — the difference between victory and a likely defeat.
The one option for Fianna Fail that appears off the radar is a coalition with Ireland's No. 3 party, left-wing Labour, which won 20 seats.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said Sunday he would honor his campaign pledge to oust Fianna Fail from office, not help to keep it there.
"I made a commitment to the Irish people that I would not lead Labour into government with Fianna Fail at this point in history," Rabbitte said. "Lest there is any doubt about it, let me say I will honor that commitment to the Irish people."
Enda Kenny, leader of the centrist Fine Gael party that finished second with 51 seats, still refused Sunday to concede defeat — even though his chances of forging a majority administration are slim to none in contrast to Ahern's clear-cut choices.
Kenny said a Fine Gael-Labour-Green coalition would command 77 seats to Fianna Fail's 78. He said 60 percent of voters had not backed Fianna Fail.
"It is not at all clear-cut as to what government will be formed. It's 77-78 and there are distinct possibilities after that," he said.
To reach 83 seats, however, Kenny's search for six other lawmakers would require help from a volatile mix of Progressive Democrats, Fianna Fail-leaning independents or the three lawmakers from Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Army-linked party.
Among the many complexities that make such a combination improbable: Left-wing parties have ruled out working with the Progressive Democrats, while Kenny has ruled out working with Sinn Fein.
