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New Irish PM
Ireland faces weeks of coalition talks before it gets a new government, as the country's two major centre-right parties work to form a stable administration. With all but a handful of seats filled in the 174-seat legislature on Monday after three days of counting election ballots, Fianna Fail had won 46 seats and Fine Gael 38. The two parties, who have governed in coalition since 2020, look set to fall just short of the 88 needed for a majority without third-party support. The people have spoken, let us now get on with the work, said Fianna Fail leader Michel Martin. Left-of-center party Sinn Fein won at least 37 seats in Friday's election but is unlikely to be part of the next government. Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have a longstanding refusal to work with Sinn Fein, partly because of its historic ties with the Irish Republican Army during three decades of violence in Northern Ireland. The outcome of the election is now clear. The numbers are there for Fianna Fail and Fine Gael