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Ahern gets Green light for grand coalition

Taoiseach aiming to build bullet-proof government

BERTIE Ahern is putting together a bullet-proof coalition that will keep Fianna Fail in power even if one of its partners pulls out of government.

The Taoiseach is lining up a broad multi-party coalition involving Fianna Fail, the Green Party and the PDs, backed by the support of some Independents.

Mr Ahern is looking to reach the crucial figure of 89 seats, allowing him to stay in office if the PDs or the Greens withdrew at any point.

This will give Mr Ahern the stability required as it will act as an insurance policy to cover any party withdrawing its support at some point over the next five years.

The PDs are expected to agree to the deal this week when Mary Harney returns from a break.

Following direct contact with the Taoiseach, Independents Jackie Healy-Rae, Beverly Flynn and Michael Lowry are signed up in principle but have to hammer out the detail.

The Greens will enter the second day of negotiating with Fianna Fail this morning after "cordial and constructive" talks yesterday.

Even if the PDs or the Greens do not enter the coalition, Mr Ahern will still be able to form a majority.

The multiple partners option is seen as Mr Ahern's best bet to survive any crises over the lifetime of the government.

The PDs are not in a strong enough position to argue to be included on their own and the Greens know there is concern about them staying the course.

"Bertie's strategy is he's not going to be held to ransom. If the PDs baulked, he has a majority. If the Greens baulked, he has a majority. If the Independents baulked, he has a majority.

"It's a typical masterful strategy to cover all the angles. This government is going to last five years. The next government will be done and dusted this day week, regardless of who is in or out," a source involved in the talks said.

Finance Minister Brian Cowen's central involvement in the negotiations is being seen as a sign within political circles that Mr Ahern is planning a handover of the leadership before the next general election.

Upbeat

And if Mr Ahern's dealings with the Mahon Tribunal increase the pressure on his position, a smooth transition can be expected with Mr Cowen taking over, without the government collapsing.

Emerging from Government Buildings yesterday afternoon, Green Party president John Gormley appeared cautious but upbeat.

"We have a cordial and constructive meeting. There's still quite a number of issues to be discussed. We'll be meeting again tomorrow and we'll discuss those issues and we hope that we can have a resolution to any difficulties in the coming days," he said.

Social Welfare Minister Seamus Brennan acknowledged there were problems but was similarly positive about making progress in the coming days.

The exploratory meeting lasted 2½ hours with the Fianna Fail and Green delegations agreeing to reconvene this morning.

The negotiations are expected to get more detailed today and deal with some of the problem areas between the two parties including taxation and economics, roads funding versus public transport, the co-location of private hospitals on public land, carbon emissions targets and levies, planning, a ban on corporate donations, the use of Shannon Airport by the US military forces involved in the war in Iraq and live animal exports.

The initial discussions covered the broader picture of the economy and the view of where the country is going.

Each side summarised their policy documents and accepted nothing was agreed until everything is agreed.

But Fianna Fail sources feel there is a "bit of a split" in the Green Party so it won't be easy to get a coalition deal past the party's 700-odd members at a special meeting called for next Sunday.

And these concerns about internal difficulties are confirmed by figures within the party itself.

"This is the high-wire act. We can go off and negotiate a super deal and then we go to our members and we are defeated," a Greens insider said.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ahern-gets-green-light-for-grand-coalition-691011.html