Madam, - There are several fallacies in Garret FitzGerald's argument (Opinion & Analysis, August 26th), which seeks to resuscitate the "scare" post-election scenario of a Fianna Fáil government depending on Sinn Féin support, and thus to give a hand to the opposition.
First of all, as in 1989, the Dáil may initially vote down all nominees for Taoiseach. In that case, the PDs were released from their pre-election commitment to a FG-PD coalition, and entered negotiations to form a coalition with Fianna Fáil. Secondly, the vote for Taoiseach by itself carries no commitment of ongoing support or dependence. Tony Gregory voted for Charles Haughey as Taoiseach on March 10th, 1987, but did not subsequently support the government. Other parties had to decide if they wanted to precipitate an early general election. Fine Gael, in particular, did not, and some months later Alan Dukes formalised its conditional support with the Tallaght strategy, Fine Gael having voted against Charles Haughey in the nomination for Taoiseach. Even that situation will not recur, as Fianna Fáil no longer opposes participation in coalition.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has made it abundantly clear that he will not be forming a government dependent on any deals or understandings with Sinn Féin, either initial or ongoing, and, remarkably, has even gone so far as to say that he would rather go into opposition. He should be believed. As someone preparing a 10-year development plan, he is not into 10-month government. Moreover, his track record is that he goes into government on the basis of a solid and sustainable arrangement for future support, preferring in 2002 to renew coalition with the PDs rather than rely on support for minority government from independents.
Not strictly relevant, but not to be lost sight of either, is that Sinn Féin knows that it would be politically suicidal at this stage to join any mainstream coalition government, to prop up a minority government, or even just to vote one into office. The rest of the opposition and the media would do their best to slaughter the party. Some of its policies, like the proposed hefty rise in corporation tax, could also be designed to guarantee from its own point of view that it does not get caught in that situation. - Yours, etc,
MARTIN MANSERGH, Seanad Éireann, Dublin 2.