FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny has accepted an invitation to meet German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin this morning amid fresh clashes between his party and potential coalition partners Labour over economic policy.
Fine Gael’s finance spokesman Michael Noonan claimed the Labour Party’s “spurious growth projections” would make further income tax rises inevitable, while his Labour counterpart Joan Burton insisted Fine Gael’s austerity plans would require an extra €5 billion in taxes and cuts.
At his midday meeting with Dr Merkel today, Mr Kenny said he would signal Fine Gael’s intent to seek changes to the content and cost of the EU-IMF bailout deal.
“But we also recognise the need to rebuild relationships with our European and international colleagues so that we can negotiate the best deals possible for our country,” he said.
Speculation about the prospect of Fine Gael being able to form a government on its own or with like-minded Independents grew yesterday. Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said he was sure some in Fine Gael were contemplating the prospect of being able to form a single-party government, when asked about increasingly positive opinion poll results for that party. “I’m not sure that people in this country want to see a single-party government,” Mr Gilmore added.
Mr Kenny yesterday discussed for the first time going into government with like-minded Independent TDs, confirming he would publish any deal that might be struck with non-party deputies.
"Deals like that should of course be made public, were that situation to arise. We had a secret book of – whatever it was – revelations for the last number of years and we can see where that brought us," he told RTÉ Radio One's This Weekprogramme.
Speaking at a press conference in Dublin, where he outlined his party’s plans to cut judges’ pay within 12 months of going into government and hold a children’s rights referendum on the same day as this year’s presidential election, Mr Kenny said Ireland needed a strong, stable administration. The only parties Fine Gael had ruled out as coalition partners were Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin.
In the 2007 election, when Fine Gael and Labour campaigned on a joint platform known as the Mullingar Accord, his party had been criticised subsequently for not offering voters choice, he said. “We have no association or platform in a common sense with any other party in this election.”
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin reiterated his concern about Independents holding sway in the next Dáil, but would only say the scenario was “hypothetical” when asked if he would contemplate backing a Fine Gael minority government to prevent such a situation. Mr Martin dismissed Mr Kenny’s trip to Berlin as a “photo-opportunity to make himself look prime ministerial”.
Mr Kenny's visit to Berlin takes place ahead of the five-way leaders' debate due to be broadcast live as part of the Frontlineprogramme on RTÉ One at 9.30pm.Mr Kenny is scheduled to travel to Berlin on the 7.30am Aer Lingus flight from Dublin. A number of options were last night being considered for his return journey, including the 1.30pm Ryanair flight from Berlin to Dublin.
A three-way debate in Irish featuring Mr Kenny, Mr Gilmore and Mr Martin is due to be screened on TG4 on Wednesday, while a debate between the three leaders is scheduled for RTÉon Tuesday, February 22nd.
Stressing differences between his party and Fine Gael, Mr Gilmore last night told The Week in Politics: "They want to get the deficit down by 2014 as they have talked about and the balanced budget by 2016. They cannot do it with the figures as they are without having additional taxes, without having additional cuts in expenditure or without sacking additional workers out of essential services."
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MIRIAM LORD:On the road with Enda Kenny
ARTHUR BEESLEY:On whether burning bondholders and renegotiating the bailout are realistic election promises
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