Sir, – All of this talk about pre-election pacts and deals would make you wonder whether the parties have completely abandoned their values or just want press attention over the lazy days of summer.
The next government will be led by Fine Gael. The only question is whether or not they will govern alone or as part of a wider coalition.
A Fine Gael-Labour pact ahead of the election would be good for Labour in the short term but would be an utter disaster in the long term. Labour needs to just concentrate on retaining as many seats as possible.
As we saw in the UK general election, the leading party in a coalition can be returned with an overall majority, so making deals on this side of the election may not be a wise choice for Fine Gael. – Yours, etc,
CIAN BYRNE,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – Sean Ryan (August 14th) presupposes that, based upon recent polling data, a new coalition involving Fine Gael and a partner other than Labour is the most likely scenario.
It should be borne in mind that nearly all psephologists predicted that a hung parliament would materialise as the effective outcome of the UK general election held earlier this year.
Almost no analyst foretold that the Conservative Party would be returned with an overall majority, and indeed many assumed that Labour would ultimately be the party invited to orchestrate the formation of a minority government.
In the face of projected uncertainty, it seems clear that UK voters, in the main, congregated towards the outcome presenting the most observable reliability, thus supporting a Tory-led majority government.
A similar line of thinking by Irish voters on polling day would result in an even possibility of Fine Gael and Labour being returned to office. – Yours, etc,
JOHN KENNEDY,
Goatstown,
Dublin 14.