Sir, – Clearly the electorate did not choose to re-elect the outgoing government. A government that did not work with Dáil Éireann. A government that chose to ignore those in opposition for five years. A true new era of Irish politics would be one where a minority government would govern with support and inclusion of those on the opposition benches, fostering a culture of openness and transparency. Moving from the old politics to a new era of politics may not be an easy road to go down, but it has the potential to be a very rewarding one for the Irish people. – Yours, etc,
RÓISÍN LAWLESS,
Áth Buí, Co na Mí.
Sir, – Miriam Lord writes "Will nobody think of the National Interest?" (April 9th).
Surely the entire media are forgetting the crux of the problem – the electorate itself did not think sufficiently of the national interest when voting.
The electorate can’t expect either stable government or Ireland to be adequately represented abroad by suitable statesmen and stateswomen when voters insist on voting in large numbers for an eccentric and bizarre collection of Independents. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN LYNCH,
Blackrock, Co Dublin.
Sir, – Is it not time for Messers Kenny and Martin to step aside and allow like-minded politicians and fellow constituency TDs Michael McGrath and Simon Coveney to form a grand coalition? – Yours, etc,
NIALL PELLY,
Dublin 16.
Sir,– Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael know only too well that election promises are like pie crusts – they’re made to be broken. All this talk about a minority government is just pie in the sky; it’s a “grand coalition” or another election. – Yours, etc,
PAUL DELANEY,
Dalkey, Co Dublin.
Sir, – We have just completed costly and entertaining celebrations for the centenary of 1916. Judging by our political representatives, we will hardly celebrate the centenary of the end of the Civil War in 2023. – Yours, etc,
MARY BERRY,
Carrickmines, Co Dublin.
Sir. – Michael Lowry’s vote for Enda Kenny as taoiseach says it all. – Yours, etc,
PADRAIC NEARY,
Tubbercurry, Co Sligo.
Sir, – Get over it, Fine Gael! The real prize of this last election is leadership of the Opposition. Sinn Féin knows this, and Fianna Fail knows this. Fianna Fail is the only barrier to the next government being formed by Sinn Féin. So please Irish media, and RTÉ in particular, stop trying to foist a “grand coalition” on us.
Let Fine Gael lead the minority government and let Fianna Fáil lead the opposition. – Yours, etc,
DONAL DENHAM,
Dalkey, Co Dublin.
Sir, – I submit that fear is the factor that has crippled Fianna Fáil. Fear of being a minority party in government plus fear of allowing Sinn Féin to lord it in the opposition benches. Perhaps it might consider a name change to “Fianna Fear”. – Yours, etc,
PJ SHEEHY,
Gorey,
Co Wexford.
Sir, – Surely the time is ripe for a benign female dictator? – Yours, etc,
MICHELE SAVAGE,
Dublin 12.
Sir, – An apt slogan for the future government may be “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with”. – Yours, etc,
DAVID SLOYAN,
Le Mont-Dore,
Nouvelle-Calédonie.
Sir, – Fianna Fáil’s obdurate post-election stance – absolute power or nothing – seems completely at odds with the vagaries inherent in our electoral system. If they drag us into an unwanted election, I presume their candidates will be reflecting this on the doorsteps – a first preference or nothing. – Yours, etc,
CIARAN McATEER,
Rathgar, Dublin 6.
Sir, – It could have been perfect. Enda’s dream come true. They could have shared. To keep both parties happy they could have shared a “new” party name. Take half of the name of each party – in Fine Gael’s case take “Gael”, and in Fianna Fail’s case take “Fianna”. We would then have “Fianna Gael”. Few of us know the slight nuances of pronunciations and what the parties stood for. And then couldn’t we all go back to the way we were. – Yours, etc,
KEN BUGGY,
Ballyduff Upper,
Co Waterford.
Sir, – Prior to being in a position to dispense with Civil War politics, might we first anticipate a war of Independents? – Yours, etc,
IARLA MONGEY,
Blackrock, Co Dublin.