According to various reports this morning the Labour party could be given what seemed an unlikely government revival over the coming days, after the Fianna Fáil party revealed they are considering approaching the opposition party with an offer of Cabinet positions in return for their support for Micheál Martin’s nomination to become Taoiseach.
The latest twist comes after a number of senior Fianna Fáil figures have claimed Ms Burton and her colleagues support could help Mr Martin defeat Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny on April 6. Fianna Fail will sweeten the deal by offering the Labour party a number of ministry positions in order to resolve the issue once and for all.
However the task will be extremely difficult to achieve considering the Labour party offered their full support to Mr Kenny and his party during the general election campaign, although Fianna Fáil believe such a deal is not impossible given the fact they could gain support from some Labour TD’s, such as the Environment Minister Alan Kelly.
A Fianna Fail spokesman told The Irish Independent: “They have seven seats so they can’t ignore the fact they have the potential to influence the make-up of the next government.” Meanwhile a second Fianna Fáil source told the paper that by approaching Labour, the party was sending a message to Mr Kenny that it was serious about entering government.
As it stands Fine Gael has 51 votes guaranteed – the party’s 50 TDs and the support of Independent TD Michael Lowry. Fianna Fáil has 43 seats, due to the loss of the Ceann Comhairle’s vote. This means Mr Martin has an eight vote margin to close, which could be given to him by Labour and an Independent if they come on board.
However the prospect of an unexpected deal was given a further boost when a Labour party source revealed that although the party initially supported Fine Gael during the election, they will not do so again next month.
The source is quoted as saying: “All bets are off now.”