Kenny urges Fianna Fail to end ‘civil war enmity’ in coalition bid
IRELAND’S acting premier Enda Kenny has issued a second plea for his arch rival to accept a ground-breaking coalition government.
Opposition leader, Fianna Fail’s Micheál Martin, flatly dismissed the first offer to join a partnership with old civil war enemies in Mr Kenny’s Fine Gael and end a six-week political stalemate.
The Taoiseach said it was in the national interest and called for a new way of doing politics to provide stable, lasting government alongside reform of the parliament.
“Ending civil war politics is the best thing for our country now,” he said.
Mr Kenny has written to Mr Martin and 15 Independents in the Dail, a hung parliament after the Febru- ary elections, with the revived offer.
“Our proposal is to create a government based on parity of esteem, consensus building, mutual respect and collective decision making,” Mr Kenny said.
“Such a government would have the capacity to deal with our country’s chal- lenges over a full Dail term and beyond.”
The proposal would end more than 90 years of bitter civil war era enmity between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and break a deadlock caused by an unprecedented voter split in the general election.
Mr Martin, whose relations with Mr Kenny are understood to be lukewarm at best, rebuked the original offer in a frosty 10-minute meeting with the caretaker Taoiseach on Thursday.
But Mr Kenny said the proposed talks could give people the chance to discuss and agree how such a government will work.
Irish voters face the prospect of going back to the polls if a stable minority government cannot be formed in the coming weeks.