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Saturday, 27 June_Ireland’s parliament picked veteran opposition leader Micheál Martin as prime minister on Saturday to head the first ever coalition uniting the two parties that have battled each other for power since a civil war nearly a century ago.
He pledged to rescue Ireland from “the fastest-moving recession ever to hit,” brought on by the coronavirus crisis.
Martin’s Fianna Fail party was forced to join forces with its foes Fine Gael, after a surprise election surge for leftist Irish nationalists Sinn Fein left neither of the traditional centrist parties with enough support to govern on its own. They are joined in a coalition by the environmentalist Greens.
Under a novel agreement, Martin is expected to step aside half way through the five-year term to allow Fine Gael’s leader, outgoing Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, to return to the post.
“There is no question what our most urgent work is. There is no community, no part of our country which has escaped untouched” by coronavirus), Martin told a special sitting of lawmakers, held in Dublin’s large Convention Centre as the houses of parliament are too small for social distancing.
To overcome the recession “we must act with urgency and ambition,” said Martin, close to tears as he thanked his family who was unable to travel from his native Cork due to coronavirus restrictions due to be eased on Monday.
He was elected by 93 votes to 63 after also securing support from some independent members of parliament.
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