Ireland’s New Government Just Puts a Green Face on the Old Order
After losing to Sinn Féin in February’s general election, Ireland’s conservative parties have exploited the pandemic to regain their footing and strike a coalition deal with the Greens. The new government won’t deliver the change Irish society needs, but Ireland’s left-wing forces still have a real opening in the coming years.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin waves to the gathered media after being elected Taoiseach at the Convention Centre on June 27, 2020 in Dublin, Ireland. Charles McQuillan / Getty
Earlier this year, as the coronavirus pandemic escalated into its most lethal initial phase, the Irish Times published one of its quintessential “inside politics” puff pieces. The paper’s political editor, Pat Leahy, recounted the kind of banter that was circulating within the conservative Fine Gael party, principal trustee of Ireland’s caretaker government at the time:
Having practically abolished private medicine, Simon Harris wonders why [he] is not a hero for People Before Profit . . . his colleagues rib Leo Varadkar that he is now the leader of a more left-wing government than Jeremy Corbyn could have ever dreamed of.
Varadkar, the outgoing Taoiseach (prime minister), is as ardent a Thatcherite as you can find in Irish politics, so we can just picture the scenes of hilarity among Fine Gael’s inner circle as that particular gag was delivered.
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