The Fianna Fail leader was elected for a second time after chaos in Ireland’s parliament subsided.
Micheal Martin has been elected as the Republic of Ireland’s prime minister for a second time.
Lawmakers voted on Thursday 95 to 76 in support of the nomination of the Fianna Fail leader.
Martin will lead a coalition government made up of the two largest centre-right parties, in addition to independent lawmakers.
His nomination was delayed by a day after the initial vote to elect him descended into chaos on Wednesday, as parliament was suspended after opposition protests over speaking rights for independent lawmakers supporting the incoming coalition. The deadlock over speaking rights was broken in talks overnight.
The coalition is the second in a row between historic rivals Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, which, between them, have led every government since 1937. Independent ministers, meanwhile, will replace the junior coalition partner Green Party, which lost most of its seats in last November’s election.
Martin, 64, was previously prime minister from 2020 to 2022 before handing the position to Fine Gael for the second half of the term. Under the coalition agreement, outgoing Prime Minister Simon Harris is set to return as premier in 2027.
For now, Harris will replace Martin as deputy prime minister and is also likely to take over as foreign minister. Elsewhere, Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe – chair of the group of eurozone finance ministers – is expected to return as finance minister.
Ireland is bracing for economic fallout from the return of United States President Donald Trump, whose pledge to slash corporate taxes poses a potential threat to the country’s foreign multinational-focused economy.
“For us today, the task is to protect Ireland’s strength at a moment of real threat, while also addressing critical social needs. By any reasonable measure, this is a challenging moment in world history,” an emotional Martin told parliament after he was elected.
He said central to protecting and renewing Ireland’s economic model will be strengthening “three essential relationships” with Europe, the US and the United Kingdom.
“We are not naive about the realities of change [in the US], but equally the Ireland-America relationship is one which benefits us both and it will emerge strongly no matter what.”
The coalition has pledged to use a tax windfall from the country’s cluster of US multinationals to continue to increase public sector investment and cut taxes, while also building Ireland’s sovereign wealth fund.
Martin, who was first elected to parliament 36 years ago, was a senior member of the Fianna Fail government that signed up to a European Union-IMF bailout in 2010, which led to an unprecedented 2011 electoral collapse just after he took over as leader.
The former history teacher, who has overseen several ministries, including health, trade and education, led a swift recovery in the party’s fortunes to return Fianna Fail to power nine years later.
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