Ireland’s two dominant parties agree to form new coalition govt with Greens

Ireland’s two dominant center-right parties have agreed to form a coalition for the first time in a deal that will also put the Green Party at the center of policymaking. The agreement also ends a political stalemate triggered by an inconclusive February election.

The deal, which must be ratified by members of the three parties, is expected to make Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin prime minister in the first half of the government’s five-year term before Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar returns in 2022, Reuters reports.

Varadkar said on Monday that the post of prime minister would rotate, but declined to confirm expectations that Martin would serve first.

Ireland has been in political deadlock since the February 8 vote pushed historic rivals Fine Gael and Fianna Fail together. The two have swapped power since they emerged from opposing sides of Ireland’s 1920s civil war. They need the Greens to reach a majority in the fractured parliament to pass new laws.