Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin speaking to the media at Leinster House last month
This morning.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was interviewed on RTÉ’s Today With Seán O’Rourke.
It followed Mr Martin and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar yesterday publishing a framework document to facilitate negotiations for the formation of a coalition Government with other parties or TDs.
How did that go?
On #todaysor Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin ruled out a postal vote for party membership to secure agreement on the coalition with Fine Gael.
“That’s very challenging. We don’t think that’s feasible at this stage but we are looking and trying to devise other ways.”
— Áine McMahon (@AineMcMahon) April 16, 2020
Micheál Martin indicating no postal ballot of Fianna Fáil members to approve the programme for government deal with Fine Gael.
Danger here.
— Hugh O’Connell (@oconnellhugh) April 16, 2020
Sounds like Micheál Martin has just confirmed there is a deal between himself and Leo Varadkar about who gets to be Taoiseach first… but won’t tell anyone what the deal is
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) April 16, 2020
The shadowy figures of the Fianna Fáil Ard Comhairle strike again https://t.co/AvB451m7N9
— Kevin Lally (@Kevin_Lally) April 16, 2020
Meanwhile…
This afternoon.
On the plinth at Leinster House…
Rise TD Paul Murphy (top), People Before Profit TDs Richard Boyd Barrett and Bríd Smith (above) address journalists…
Paul Murphy says he has never seen a “more blatant trap” for smaller parties than the FG-FF document published yesterday
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) April 16, 2020
Yesterday: It Took A Pandemic [Updated]
UPDATE:
Sinn Féin’s @PearseDoherty says FF/FG are “hell-bent on keeping Sinn Féin out of Government”.
He notes that if any other party had produced a “wish-list of vague promises” as FF/FG have they would be “laughed out of it by other political parties and the media, and rightly so.” pic.twitter.com/RvOEXyxNtQ
— Sinn Féin (@sinnfeinireland) April 16, 2020
‘Nothing will stop in my way to becoming a Semi-Taoiseach’ An ‘L’ plate. ROFL
‘Grassroots – who needs them?’
On a Postal Ballot. “That’s very challenging. We don’t think that’s feasible at this stage but we are looking and trying to devise other ways.”
Em – the Postal service is operating. Nothing challenging about that. Post out ballots, and receive them back through the post.
“Devise” other ways. ‘Deceive’ more apt.
Goo Go from a govt. This bull ploppy about a mandate, the people want change…. Go form a govt. You won’t because you’ll have to make decisions. Just like the North. You cannot make decision so lets do nothing. Go on, tell when when SF last made a decision in the UK or Ireland.
Can you provide a roadmap with your comments please?
And this can’t answer a simple question. That’s why you won’t be in govt, nobody trusts you.
TDs obtain their mandate to vote in Dail motions from the electorate.
Therefore there is nothing to impede any TD in exercising such a mandate in any motion, including the election of a Taoiseach.
If current lock downs prevent party ratification on such matters then the TDs, in the national interest, should regard the electoral mandate as far superior to their party interests and therefore proceed to form a Government immediately.
Urgent government formation should take precidence over party interests.
To reiterate the parties choose the candidates but the electorate provide the individual TDs with their parliamentary voting power and whatever members of various parties may think their internal party considerations are grossly inferior to the wider interests of the electorate.
We have already cast our votes in the election and its high time the TDs do the same in Dail Eireann.
It isn’t that.
It’s that FF have to put coalition with FG to their members, and the FF grassroots wouldn’t want that. So Martin is trying to stifle the grassroots. Watch for the ‘due to the Covid19 situation, FF leadership have to take the ex-tra-o-rd-in-ary decision that only elected TDs and Senators will get to decide’.
The death knell for FF.
Thanks for reading and comment
My point is though that they don’t have to go to their parties – we elected the TDs and not the parties
And the amount of times the “death knell” argument is used by TDs as an excuse to avoid power and the concuuent difficult decisions is laughable
I know they have careers and lively hoods to think about but that is why rightly that they have generous remuneration and pensions
Well they may ‘have’ to go to their party memberships, depending on their respective constitutions.There are rules Pat.
I don’t see what’s so difficult about a postal vote? The Seanad elections have a postal vote
A postal vote would be incredibly easy to organize if they actually wanted to. California had *8.3million* postal votes cast in their 2018 elections. FF has what, approx 20,000 party members?
If Martin tries to force through a contentious FG coalition as a fait accompli, without giving the membership any say, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a group of the more Republican FFers splinter off under O’Cuiv.
Which would be an interesting development – if a FF / FG / Other coalition were formed… and then O’Cuiv split off with 10-15 TDs… the newly formed government would fall.
The thing is O’Cuiv wouldn’t even need 15 TDs – if he got even 7 or 8 then any FF/FG/IND government wouldn’t have a majority.
He wouldn’t really be in the wrong doing it, either. Trying to deprive the membership of a vote on this is pretty shady stuff.
The Framework Document explicitly states that “the ideas behind this document seek to build on ideas from all parties and none” and also that “politicians across all parties and none can play their part”.
That being so, Mary Lou should take up the invite.
What a pathetic bunch all of them
Not one but two of the most disastrous threats to our country at the door and this carry on
Brexit which can tear our people apart and Covid 19 that has the capacity to kill every old age pensioner and person with health problems
We really deserve to be ruled directly by the EU