Tánaiste Mary Harney yesterday rejected suggestions that she was turning her back on the Progressive Democrats coalition with Fianna Fáil in saying that party members would find a coalition deal with Fine Gael just as attractive.
Ms Harney said her address to the Young Progressive Democrats branch at Trinity College Dublin in which she said she had no preference for working with either Bertie Ahern or Enda Kenny in the next government did not mark a change of position for the party.
"The position of the Progressive Democrats since our foundation is that we are an independent party and we fight elections on that basis and we enter into government with like-minded parties," she said.
"The party does not have a preference in favour of either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael nor would it be right for the party [ to have such a preference]. If the party were to have a preference, it would lose its independence."
She said she was outlining the political reality that either FF or FG would be in government after the next election but neither would achieve an overall majority and would have to go into coalition with one or more parties.
