Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he does not see his party going into Government with Sinn Féin after the next general election.
Mr Martin was asked about the possibility of the coalition by RTÉ’s Bryan Dobson on the News at One.
The question arose in light of comments made by former Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern, who recently said his party should not rule out taking a junior coalition role with Sinn Féin after the next general election, likely in the second half of 2024.
Mr Ahern acknowledged that the current three-party line-up of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party, could put TD numbers together to return to power. But he also argued “that time moves on” and the prospect of his party playing second fiddle to Sinn Féin in power must be considered.
Mr Ahern made the comments in a wide-ranging article by Tommie Gorman, former RTÉ Europe and Northern editor, in the online magazine, The Currency.
However, the party’s current leader insisted he “doesn’t accept that at all”, reports Independent.
“I had all this before 2016 [general election] Brian. I was in studios with you quoting opinion polls to me… I remember saying in an Árd Fhéis general elections are not coronations. Opinion polls are not elections. In 2016 we defied all opinion polls. I really get tired of all this endless speculation. There has been no general election. The dynamic of the campaign itself, as we found ourselves to our cost in the last election campaign, can be influential,” Mr Martin said, reports Independent.
In response, Mr Martin said he “does not see” Fianna Fáil in Government with Sinn Féin after the next general election, saying their policies are too far apart, as Mary Lou McDonald’s party has aligned itself “with the far-left”.
He also accused Sinn Féin of having an “appalling” attitude towards “legacy issues” concerning the IRA.
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