Ireland’s center-right parties inch closer to coalition deal with independent lawmakers

Investing.com — Ireland’s two primary center-right parties, the Fine Gael and the Fianna Fail, have taken a significant step towards forming a coalition government with a group of primarily conservative independent lawmakers. The development took place on Wednesday when they assisted in electing an independent lawmaker as the speaker of the lower house of parliament.

In the election held on November 29, the Fine Gael party, led by Prime Minister Simon Harris, and the Fianna Fail party, led by Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, fell short of just two seats from the required 88 to form a government. The parties are now seeking the support of independent lawmakers or one of the two small centre-left parties, Labour or the Social Democrats, to secure a comfortable governing majority.

Despite ongoing discussions with the centre-left parties, the likelihood of a deal with the independent lawmakers is considered higher by most observers. This speculation was reinforced when members of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail helped elect Verona Murphy, an independent member of the Regional Independent (LON:IOG) Group, as the speaker of the lower house. The speaker role is one of the highest paid political positions in the country.

Before the vote, Prime Minister Harris encouraged his party members to back Murphy to aid in the overall government formation, as per a statement released by Fine Gael. The state broadcaster RTE reported that this appointment paves the way for a potential new government consisting of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and the Regional Independent Group.

Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have expressed hopes of securing an agreement on a new coalition government early next year.

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