Covid 19 might finally force parties into grand alliance

World of Politics with Harry McGee – harrymcgee@gmail.com

Fianna Fáil’s first parliamentary party after the general election was a strange and unreal affair, occurring five days after the poll by which stage the party’s reduced circumstances were apparent to one and all. For four hours, the 38 TDs met in the basement of Leinster House – but what was striking was the calm and the lack of raised voices.

There was no open rebellion nor retribution, nor deep-seated opposition to the decision.

There was some criticism, of course, particularly at the exclusion of Sinn Féín, but they came from expected quarters – known critics of the Fianna Fáíl leader. That formed only a tiny sliver of the meeting.

And it ended with leader Micheál Martin being given an unopposed mandate to try and form a government with any party other than Sinn Féin.

“Nobody criticised Micheál really. Nobody criticised the disastrous campaign we had. We were operating on the basis that we had won the election rather than lost it. It was as if none of that had happened,” observed one TD ruefully afterwards.

Viewed in the cold light of day, the election had been a disaster for Fianna Fáil. Instead of gaining its targeted ten extra seats, it had lost seven – and the popular vote to Sinn Féin. The questions from 2011 cropped up again, of a party that was struggling for relevancy.

By any stretch, Fianna Fáil had a disastrous campaign. Its messages were hard to decipher; it was slow to react to the pension anomaly – and it performed an inexplicable mid-campaign flip-flop on rent freeze which looked awful.

Instead of being seen as the agent of change, the party was seen as part of the government, thanks in part to confidence and supply.

Micheál Martin had a very poor outing and struggled in most of the debates – and the more trenchantly he tried to down Mary Lou McDonald the more her star rose.

What perplexed some colleagues was that, even after the horse had bolted, Martin continued to attack Sinn Féin at every opportunity although the campaign was over.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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