Micheál Martin returns as Ireland’s prime minister after securing backing of parliament

DUBLIN (AP) — Irish lawmakers voted Thursday to make veteran politician Micheál Martin prime minister for a second time at the helm of a coalition government.

Members of the lower house of parliament, the Dáil, voted by 95 to 76 to confirm Martin as taoiseach, the Irish title for prime minister.

“It is a profound honor to be nominated to serve as head of the government in a free, democratic and diverse republic,” said Martin, who will formally be appointed to the role later by President Michael D. Higgins before naming his cabinet.

The vote had been due to come on Wednesday but was delayed amid chaotic scenes in parliament by wrangling over parliamentary procedure.

It comes almost two months after an election in which Martin’s Fianna Fáil party won the most seats, but not enough to govern alone.

After weeks of talks, the long-dominant center-right parties Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael agreed to form a coalition with the support of several independent lawmakers.

Under the deal, Martin. 64, will be taoiseach for three years, with Fine Gael’s Simon Harris – the outgoing taoiseach – as his deputy. The two politicians will then swap jobs for the rest of the five-year term.

In Ireland’s Nov. 29 election, voters bucked a global trend that saw incumbent governments ousted around the world in 2024.

Fianna Fail won 48 of the 174 legislative seats and Fine Gael 38. They’ve secured backing to govern from the mostly conservative Regional Independent Group, which will be given junior ministerial positions.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil share broadly similar center-right policies but a century-old rivalry stemming from their origins on opposing sides of Ireland’s civil war in the 1920s. They formed an alliance after the 2020 election ended in a virtual dead heat.

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