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So the Irish government has basically imploded. Stephen Send a noteboard - 23/01/2011 04:47:10 PM
Between last Sunday and Wednesday six Fianna Fail ministers resigned, and the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) re-assigned their ministerships to current ministers because the government wouldn't have received the support they needed to install new ministers. As the constitution requires between 7 and 15 ministers, the government were just about stable with their 9 ministers.

On Tuesday the Taoiseach faced a a confidence motion within his own party, which he managed to survive. This is what prompted most of the resignations. Yet yesterday he announced that he was stepping down as head of Fianna Fail with immediate effect, but was staying on as Taoiseach. Not exactly understandible that he could retain his position, but I guess weirder things have happend. Consequently there will be a Fianna Fail leadership contest next week, with the new leader organising the election campaign for the election that is currently set for March 11th.

Today, more fun has happend. The Green Party, the junior coalition party, announced they are going into Opposition. With the loss of the six Green TDs Fianna Fail no longer have a majority, and the number of ministers has now dropped to 7, that lower limit I mentioned above.

Now we are left with a minority government that need to inact their FInance Bill, which will give legal status to the last budget, and to the EU-IMF bailout. Most of the opposition parties have said they will support the bill, provided the government presents it soon, ie in the next week or ten days. Once this happens, they will press for an early dissolution of government and election. Provided Fianna Fail accede to this, we will have an election before the end of February.

What's up with everyone else's government at this present day? Anything as fun as the above going on?
"I mean, if everyone had a soul, there would be no contrast by which we could appreciate it. For giving us this perspective, we thank you." - Nate
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So the Irish government has basically imploded. - 23/01/2011 04:47:10 PM 1794 Views
I am now confused - 23/01/2011 05:34:31 PM 1151 Views
You won't be the only person - 23/01/2011 06:21:23 PM 1051 Views
You do realize Britain is pretty much the envy of the Western world at the moment? - 23/01/2011 06:27:05 PM 1184 Views
Re: You do realize Britain is pretty much the envy of the Western world at the moment? - 23/01/2011 06:34:47 PM 1127 Views
Those protests were only violent by British standards. - 23/01/2011 11:54:15 PM 1215 Views
Really? - 24/01/2011 12:03:38 AM 1017 Views
But... - 24/01/2011 07:28:17 PM 1075 Views
Re: But... - 24/01/2011 07:30:39 PM 1326 Views
What protests? - 24/01/2011 07:26:49 PM 1153 Views
Re: What protests? - 24/01/2011 07:28:40 PM 1015 Views
Re: What protests? - 25/01/2011 09:23:17 AM 1151 Views
There's a new objection - 25/01/2011 11:38:25 AM 1063 Views
I didn't object... - 25/01/2011 11:47:11 AM 958 Views
Re: I didn't object... - 25/01/2011 11:49:36 AM 947 Views
If you look at the bottom of that list... - 25/01/2011 11:58:24 AM 1008 Views
Should I start chiming in on Norwegian politics now that I'm here...? - 24/01/2011 12:42:03 AM 1048 Views
Why not? - 24/01/2011 08:49:07 AM 1108 Views
'Cos I doubt you'll like what I have to say, for one thing. - 26/01/2011 01:55:13 AM 1141 Views
Re: 'Cos I doubt you'll like what I have to say, for one thing. - 26/01/2011 08:42:04 AM 1160 Views
I misconstrued your sarcasm, sorry. - 26/01/2011 10:23:40 AM 1304 Views
That's been a while coming, hasn't it? Cowen seems to be losing it. - 23/01/2011 05:48:30 PM 1091 Views
Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. - 23/01/2011 06:27:27 PM 1155 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. - 23/01/2011 06:33:26 PM 1094 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. - 23/01/2011 07:19:03 PM 1203 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. - 23/01/2011 07:57:05 PM 1046 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. - 23/01/2011 09:29:03 PM 1160 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. - 23/01/2011 09:46:20 PM 1119 Views
I think Adams is an Irish citizen, and not a British one. - 23/01/2011 11:45:34 PM 1074 Views
Re: I think Adams is an Irish citizen, and not a British one. - 23/01/2011 11:53:12 PM 1064 Views
The part that I find strange is... - 23/01/2011 11:58:27 PM 1042 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. - 23/01/2011 11:45:39 PM 951 Views
I found out something else today which makes it even better. - 24/01/2011 10:37:45 PM 1270 Views
I was reading your post and going "what about the Chiltern Hundreds"? - 24/01/2011 10:44:32 PM 1059 Views
Today's news: it got better again! - 26/01/2011 07:51:51 PM 1132 Views
Oh, alternatively we could elevate him to the House of Lords. - 26/01/2011 11:08:44 PM 1092 Views
Awesome idea. Something like "Baron Adams of Londonderry", I'm thinking. *NM* - 27/01/2011 07:54:26 PM 527 Views
We made his arch-rival a Lord, after all, so it would only be fair. - 28/01/2011 08:26:15 AM 1027 Views
"This is the voice of a life peer" - 28/01/2011 02:18:04 PM 1158 Views
Here you go - 25/01/2011 12:55:33 PM 1191 Views
That's the site I found too. - 25/01/2011 01:25:56 PM 1015 Views
Right. - 25/01/2011 01:42:49 PM 1260 Views
well, the only interesting thing in swedish politics is a wikileaks document and the reactions... - 23/01/2011 06:21:00 PM 1129 Views
That's interesting - 23/01/2011 06:32:05 PM 1096 Views
What is inappropriate about trying to keep out barbaric unskilled people? - 23/01/2011 10:59:53 PM 1102 Views
... the fact that they are asylum seekers, and their skill certainly shouldn't matter in that case. - 24/01/2011 07:08:14 PM 972 Views
Schweden schafft sich ab, eh? - 24/01/2011 07:31:33 PM 1251 Views
Not to mention... - 26/01/2011 07:55:26 PM 958 Views
- 26/01/2011 07:46:19 PM 1079 Views
Hopefully they'll stop using Irish officially as a way to cut down on unnecessary costs. - 23/01/2011 10:57:08 PM 1041 Views
I'd support that - 23/01/2011 11:26:20 PM 1103 Views
Ironically, if you de-officialised Irish you could get EU money to help preserve it. - 23/01/2011 11:48:14 PM 1005 Views
I never realised that - 23/01/2011 11:54:43 PM 1044 Views
But why, why? - 24/01/2011 08:35:43 PM 981 Views
Because it's the only thing justifying their insistence they're not British? - 24/01/2011 10:03:54 PM 1049 Views
But all language learning should be purely voluntary (after what parents teach their children). - 25/01/2011 03:05:28 AM 1025 Views
What, so you don't think students in high school should be taught foreign languages? - 25/01/2011 06:34:21 PM 1053 Views
Irish is the mother tongue of about 7,000-15,000 people at most. - 26/01/2011 05:04:00 AM 1080 Views
Wikipedia says it's more like 40k-80k. - 26/01/2011 06:41:41 PM 1450 Views
Inflated statistics from what I've read. - 26/01/2011 09:45:51 PM 990 Views
They might be, indeed. - 27/01/2011 01:08:09 PM 1239 Views
What the hell happened to the Celtic Tiger Country? *NM* - 24/01/2011 05:47:12 AM 602 Views
Thrown away on bling and tat, unfortunately. - 24/01/2011 01:01:27 PM 970 Views

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