Sir, – It's difficult to follow Stephen Collins's logic ("Fine Gael's sulking will further erode public confidence in our democracy", Opinion & Analysis, February 28th). On the one hand, he says that Sinn Féin, with 25 per cent of the vote, has "no automatic right to take over the reins of government", but that on the other hand Fine Gael, with just 21 per cent of the vote, has a "responsibility to participate in government".
For a fourth column in succession, he insists that the unsavoury policies and history of Sinn Féin now compel Fine Gael to bend over backwards to prevent them from entering government.
With the greatest of respect to your columnist, the voters have already cast a verdict of sorts on these issues. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil repeatedly raised these problems repeatedly during the election campaign and committed to keep Sinn Féin out of government. Together they got just 47 per cent of the vote. That debate is now over.
By contrast, those parties that were committed to removing Fine Gael from office achieved 67 per cent of the vote. Surely there is a greater onus on those parties to deliver on what appeared to have been the greater priority of the electorate?
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Over the last decade, the political, business and media establishment across Europe put pressure on parties straddling the centre ground to form grand coalitions in a desperate attempt to quarantine populist parties. In each case, these coalitions led to a dramatic weakening of one or both of the main parties in these governments, while the populism they tried to stem continued to surge.
The centre-left Pasok in Greece and the centre-right Forza Italia in Italy, which governed their countries for most of the last 30 years, have both been reduced to single-digit support, while the populist parties which they performed somersaults to keep out of government run rampant, with support levels of 30 per cent in Greece and 45 per cent in Italy. In Germany, two grand coalitions with the CDU have relegated the Social Democrats to second-tier status, while the anti-immigrant AfD has solidified its support.
Why does Stephen Collins think that a political suicide pact between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail will end any differently?
One of the beautiful things about democracy is that voters are perfectly entitled to be wrong. If your columnist believes that they are wrong, then he should surely have an interest in ensuring that this is demonstrated to them, by testing Sinn Féin’s ability to deliver on its outlandish election promises with a spell in government.
The real damage to our democracy would be if the political and media establishment attempted to conspire against the wishes of voters, which would only serve to validate and confirm the reasons they voted for Sinn Féin in the first place. – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
Sir, – The result of the election dictates that Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin should go into coalition together with rotating taoisigh.
Sinn Féin should be given responsibility for health and housing.
This scenario would be change and would honour the will of the people.
The electorate did not vote for total change! – Yours, etc,
GERALDINE GREGAN,
Clarecastle,
Co Clare.