Fianna Fáil was elected leader for a second term after the chaos in Ireland’s parliament subsided.
Michael Martin has been elected as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland for the second time.
Lawmakers voted 95 to 76 in favor of the Fianna Fáil leader’s nomination on Thursday.
Martin will lead a coalition government made up of the two largest parties on the centre-right, in addition to independent lawmakers.
His nomination was delayed by a day after early voting to elect him on Wednesday, due to support for the incoming coalition. Parliament was suspended following opposition protests over the speaking rights of independent lawmakers. The deadlock over speaking rights was broken in overnight negotiations.
The alliance is the second in a row between arch-rivals Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, who have led every government between them since 1937. Last November’s elections
Martin, 64, previously served as Prime Minister from 2020 to 2022 before handing over to Fine Gael for the second half of the term. Under the coalition deal, outgoing Prime Minister Simon Harris is set to return as Prime Minister in 2027.
Currently, Harris will replace Martin as Deputy Prime Minister and is likely to take over as Foreign Secretary. Elsewhere, Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe – head of the group of eurozone finance ministers – is expected to return as finance minister.
Ireland is bracing for the economic fallout from the return of United States President Donald Trump, whose promise to cut corporate taxes poses a potential threat to the country’s offshore multinational-focused economy.
“For us today, the task is to protect Ireland’s strength in a moment of real danger, while also meeting critical social needs. By any reasonable measure, this is a challenging moment in world history,” an emotional Martin said. told Parliament after his election.
He said the focus on protecting and renewing Ireland’s economic model would strengthen “three essential relationships” with Europe, the US and the UK.
“We are not ignorant of the realities of change. [in the US]But equally the Ireland-US relationship is one that will benefit both of us and will emerge stronger no matter what.
The coalition has pledged to use a tax windfall from the country’s cluster of US multinationals to boost public sector investment and cut taxes, as well as continue to build Ireland’s sovereign wealth fund.
Martin, who was first elected to parliament 36 years ago, was a senior member of the Fianna Fáil government that signed off on the EU-IMF bailout in 2010, which led to his ouster in 2011. Soon after taking office, there was an unusual electoral collapse.
The former history teacher, who has overseen a number of ministries including health, trade and education, led a rapid turnaround in the party’s fortunes to return Fianna Fáil to power after nine years.
