Micheál Martin was elected Irish prime minister for the second time by a coalition of the country’s two large centre-right parties and independent lawmakers on Thursday, a day later than scheduled after opposition protest derailed an initial vote.
The coalition is the second in a row between historic rivals Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, who between them have led every government since the foundation of the state, with independents replacing junior coalition partner the Green Party, which lost most of its seats.
The initially scheduled vote to elect Martin on Wednesday descended into chaos when the parliament was suspended four times after opposition protests over speaking rights for independent lawmakers supporting the incoming coalition.
An agreement by both sides that government-supporting independents cannot for now retain extended speaking rights from the opposition benches paved the way for Martin to be elected.
Martin, 64, was prime minister from 2020-2022 before handing the position to Fine Gael for the second half of the term. Under the deal struck following the Nov. 29 election, outgoing prime minister Simon Harris is set to return as premier in late 2027.
Harris will replace Martin as deputy prime minister and is also likely to take over as foreign minister later on Wednesday while Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe, chair of the group of euro zone finance ministers, is tipped to return as finance minister.
The government is bracing for the fallout from the return to the White House of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose pledges to cut corporate tax rules and impose tariffs pose a potentially major threat to Ireland’s foreign multinational-focused economy.
The coalition has pledged to use a tax windfall from the country’s cluster of U.S. multinationals to continue to increase public sector investment, fix infrastructure deficits and cut taxes, while also building Ireland’s sovereign wealth funds.
Martin, who was first elected to parliament 36 years ago, was a senior member of the Fianna Fail government that signed up to an EU/IMF bailout in 2010 and led to an unprecedented 2011 electoral collapse just after he took over as leader.
The former history teacher, who has held several senior ministries including health, trade and education, led a swift recovery in the party’s fortunes to return them to government nine years later. (Reuters)