Poll points to hung Irish parliament _ or historic alliance

The two parties, which trace their origins to opposite sides of the 1922-23 civil war that followed Ireland’s independence from Britain, have never shared power before.

Ireland’s Prime Minister has vowed to remain in office despite the coalition government suffering huge losses in the general election. Tempers frayed as a late-night recount was ordered.

The first government TD (MP) to concede his seat, Labour’s Eric Byrne, declared he was relieved. “He’s flat to the mat with his black cap, and there’s no time for tae (tea)”.

In a trend that echoed elections in Greece, Spain and Portugal, voters turned to independent politicians, smaller parties and anti-austerity groups amid anger over hardship that has continued despite strong economic growth.

Mr Breen was on the fence about whether or not there will be another election in the coming months. Some major figures in Irish politics are fighting for their political lives.

Lowry retained his parliamentary seat in election results announced Saturday.

This is a disappointment for the Fine Gael party. He said both parties should set aside their historic hostilities and share power. “But it will take time”.

After the fifth count, those fears were allayed as Burton got in along with Ruth Coppinger (SP) and Jack Chambers (FF) and Leo Varadkar (FG).

At the start of the last parliament in 2011, the three parties held 80 percent of the seats.

He called Sinn Fein’s rise “another step in the realignment of politics on this island”.

“The idea that it is just down to two parties, I think, is ignoring the reality of how people voted”.

The new Irish parliament is scheduled to convene on March 10.

The poll by Ipsos MRBI puts Fianna Fail on 22.9%; Sinn Fein on 14.9%; Anti Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit on 3.6%; Greens on 3.5%; Social Democrats on 2.8%; Renua on 2.6%; and others on 16.1%.

“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge in the coming weeks”, he said.

The Fine Gael Minister Simon Coveney has said he believes forming the next government will be a very hard process.

The Provisionals’ most politically savvy commander, Gerry Adams, transformed his Sinn Fein faction over two decades into a well-organized, highly motivated political party.

“I’d be extremely nervous about putting Sinn Fein in pole position in the opposition”, O’Dea said.

It would appear that the campaign run by the government coalition, which consists of Fine Gael and Labour, did not resonate with the Irish electorate.

Minister of State Michael Ring (FG) has said Enda Kenny has his full support as party leader. The long-opposing parties first emerged nearly a century ago at the close of Ireland’s civil war in 1923.

“We’re committed to ensuring the country gets a good government, but it’s going to take time”, he added.

Mr Martin said any successful coalition talks will have to be “very much focused on the issues and on policies, and not just on numbers”. The first candidate to be elected was Shane Ross, a independent candidate who stood in south Dublin on a platform of ending political cronyism and transforming Irish politics. “Many of whom will lose their seats.”.

He said it would not be easy to form a government but political leaders would now have to reflect on the results.

“It’s very early days to say what the eventual outcome will be of quite a number of the constituencies will be”.

Ireland waited for the final results Sunday of an election that has left the eurozone country in limbo, ejecting Prime Minister Enda Kenny’s governing coalition but offering no clear alternative.

The only viable option may be a problematic alliance of old rivals Fianna Fail and Mr Kenny’s Fine Gael – although even their combined support is set to fall below 50 percent of the vote for the first time.