Prospect of early agreement on new government fades in face of Covid-19 crisis

Talks on a new government resumed between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail negotiating teams at Leinster House on Wednesday where the two sides discussed efforts necessary to tackle the coronavirus crisis.

Discussions are due to continue on Thursday and Friday between the two parties, though the expectation of a pre-Easter breakthrough in government formation has diminished as the Covid-19 crisis has escalated in recent days.

Last week, the two parties agreed to commence “in-depth detailed talks” in a move that was widely interpreted as signalling a decisive move towards government formation. However, their hopes of forming a coalition with the Green Party were dashed when Green TDs refused to join the talks, calling instead for a national government, a proposal rejected by all three big parties, including Sinn Féin.

In recent days, the dramatic escalation of the coronavirus crisis – with schools and businesses closing and people being urged to implement “social distancing” to combat the spread of the disease – has meant that the expectation by both party leaderships that a government could be put together over the next few weeks has fallen away. Sources in both parties said that the talks today were mainly concerned with the Government’s response and future plans on Covid-19.

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A statement from the Taoiseach’s spokesman said: “Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael met today and discussed the public health measures and economic issues surrounding Covid-19 at length. The parties have agreed to keep their discussions confidential.”

However, senior sources in both parties accept that the enormity of the public health crisis means that talks about a five-year programme covering all aspects of government activity are impossible at present.

“We don’t know where we’ll be in a week’s time,” said one source. “Everything about housing and climate and everything else is just pushed off the agenda by this,” said another person familiar with the talks. Other senior figures speculated that no new government was likely to be formed for several weeks, and then only if the number of new infections with the virus begins to recede.

However, all sides acknowledged the long-term unsustainability of a situation where a government without a democratic mandate remains in power.

TDs return to Leinster House tomorrow where they are expected to pass emergency legislation to deal with the crisis, though the party whips have agreed that only a small number of TDs from each party will attend.

The Fine Gael parliamentary party will not meet tomorrow but will hold a conference call tomorrow evening. A request from the Taoiseach for a mandate to enter talks on a programme for government is not on the agenda, it is understood, though he may yet bring up the issue.

There was no comment from Government Buildings on Mr Varadkar’s intentions. The moves towards a coalition between the two parties – rivals since the 1920s that have never before shared power – comes more than a month after a general election that saw both lose seats and Sinn Féin’s popularity surge. Fianna Fáil currently has 37 TDs and Fine Gael has 35, meaning an alliance of the two would be eight votes short of a Dáil majority. The parties have also been involved in contacts with Independent TDs. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have refused to speak to Sinn Féin, which has 37 TDs, about forming a government, making a combination of the two the only viable administration.