Irish parliament elects Micheál Martin as prime minister after compromise deal
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Fianna Fáil leader’s formal reappointment to role of taoiseach comes 24 hours after chaotic scenes in the Dáil. The Irish parliament has elected Micheál Martin as prime minister, 24 hours after chaotic scenes in the Dáil caused the cancellation of his formal appointment.
Martin’s return to the role of taoiseach comes after a group of regional independent TDs (members of parliament), who are propping up his government, agreed a compromise to delay talks to resolve the dispute that derailed what should have been a set-piece ceremony on Wednesday.
With calm replacing the previous day’s rancour on opposition benches, Martin pledged to “remain open to constructive ideas” as leader of the centre-right coalition government. He said: “As I look at Ireland today, it is clear that there can be a degree of cynicism towards politics and too often we dismiss the motivation of others, especially those we disagree with. I reject this. I believe in the good faith of those who seek to serve their communities in elective office – and I believe that politics remains a force for good, a force for positive change.”.
Parliamentarians voted 95 to 76 in support of the nomination of the Fianna Fáil leader as taoiseach. High on the agenda for the new government is the chronic housing crisis that has dominated local politics for the past few years, along with health, education, infrastructure and the economy.
On the international front, Ireland faces an urgent need to launch a diplomatic offensive in Washington to head off any threat from the Trump administration to repatriate jobs and taxes paid by US multinationals with European headquarters in Ireland, including Apple, Microsoft, Meta, X and Pfizer.
