Dáil Drama

Micheál Martin is set to become Ireland’s prime minister for the second time after lawmakers formally approve him as head of a coalition government on Thursday, the BBC reported.

In a parliamentary election at the end of November, Martin’s Fianna Fáil party won the most seats, but not enough to govern alone, according to ABC News. Afterward, the long-dominant center-right parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, agreed to form a coalition following weeks of talks.

Martin, a veteran politician, is slated to become the taoiseach, or prime minister, for three years, with outgoing taoiseach Simon Harris from the Fine Gael party as his deputy. Afterward, the two politicians will swap positions for the rest of the five-year term.

Members of both political parties have ratified the agreement, and Martin was set to be confirmed by members of Dáil, the parliament’s lower house, on Wednesday. President Michael D. Higgins was scheduled to formally appoint him to the office, and Martin was set to appoint his cabinet in the early evening.

However, the Dáil was suspended until Thursday, after the usually ceremonial appointment process was delayed by protests in the parliament by opposition parties.

Opposition parties Sinn Féin and Labour protested over attempts by independent lawmakers, who are propping up the government, remaining on opposition benches and eating up critical speaking time.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the situation was “completely unacceptable,” according to the Guardian. The Dáil speaker, Verona Murphy, was forced to suspend proceedings twice, before adjourning the lower house until Thursday morning.

In the election on Nov. 29, Fianna Fáil won 48 of the 174 legislative seats and Fine Gael won 38.

While the two parties share similar center-right policies, they face a rivalry dating back to Ireland’s civil war in the 1920s where they were on opposing sides. After the indecisive February election of 2020, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil entered into an unprecedented coalition government and Martin became taoiseach for the first time.

The forming of their new coalition shuts out the opposition center-left party Sinn Féin, who won 39 seats, more than Fine Gael. The center-right parties have refused to work with Sinn Féin because of their historic ties with the Irish Republican Army during decades of violence in Northern Ireland.