Election Blog 11- No one wants to dance with me.
It’s five days on after one of the most momentus elections that we have ever seen and now the dance has began to try to form a Government. However while Mary Lou McDonald might be most glamorous woman in the hall it would appear that there are very few who want to dance with her.
First she might have hoped that Brendan Howlin might take the floor. After all Labour are ‘left-leaning’ and their six votes would have been useful. However not alone did Howlin not agree to dance, he ruled out any dance and promptly left the hall altogether.
Leo Varadkar and his friends were never going to dance. Fine Gael have stayed sitting down and they certainly won’t be taking the floor with Mary. Now Micheal Martin has turned up his nose at the chance of taking the floor. Too much was said during the election campaign. He can’t go back on that now.
So where are we now? The dance floor remains empty. Micheal Martin may yet take the floor along with the Greens and hope for the support of Fine Gael in a ‘confidence and supply’ arrangement. It’s not going to happen.
There are two options left. Maybe Fianna Fail and Fine Gael could join with The Greens to form a Grand Coalition. It would be a stable Government and there is little between the two main parties in terms of policies but can they set the old civil war rivalries aside? Very unlikely.
So that leaves the final option which is another election. Would Sinn Fein run more candidates and win 50 to 60 seats? The wind is certainly behind their backs but the big question is now, was their vote genuine support for Sinn Fein or a protest vote that could go in any direction in a new poll?
My view? Well, I didn’t see the spectacular rise of Sinn Fein last weekend. It could be a trend. I can’t see anything other than another election within three months. Whether that sorts anything out is anyone’s guess. After another poll we might be in the exact same position.
The music is playing but there are very few dancing