A chara, – At work, we all sometimes have to work with colleagues that we don’t exactly click with, as well as with the ones we do. This runs to the core of what it means to be professional. It’s time for the two largest parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, to accept that they are in the same boat as the rest of us mere mortals – they need to accept the inevitable and build a workable, professional team. – Is mise,
SAIBH HOOPER,
Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.
Sir, – The bottom line is that neither Fine Gael nor Fianna Fail has an adequate number of seats to form a government by itself. They also have a perfect right to prefer not to do business together if they so choose.
In the run-up to the election, it was suggested by political commentators that electing many Independent TDs would prove messy. And so it has proved! The main parties have not received a mandate to create a government. The electorate must be asked to vote again and again until we get a workable outcome. What’s the alternative? – Yours, etc,
COLETTE CUMMINS,
Stillorgan, Co Dublin.
Sir, – The responsibility for forming a government lies with the elected politicians, but part of the blame for their reluctance to do so is ours. We appear to expect a party to either implement all its proposed policies in government, or to stay out of government altogether. Those that compromise are treated as if they utterly betrayed their voters, and they pay a high price for their supposed perfidy in the next election.
Politicians need to accept the outcome of the election, but so do we. If a party we voted for hasn’t got enough votes to form a majority government, then it hasn’t got a sufficient mandate to implement all its policies.
Honouring the result of the election means that compromises have to be made. We should give more credit to those who are willing to forge coalitions, whether they are the leading or lesser party or parties in the new government. – Yours, etc,
COLIN WALSH,
Templeogue,
Dublin 6W.