Poll: Irish general election edition

[Diable Rouge]

Richard Boyd-Barrett goes through the charade of pursuing Government:

https://twitter.com/newschambers/status/1227564091994189825

[Duncan Gardner]

If Berba's prose there was any more purple you could wear it to a toga party. Some cartoon gunman whose mates got accidentally elected lived 60km away? You should write a memoir

[anton pulisov]

The fella who now has the Joan Burton votes:

O'Gorman is originally from Mulhuddart, and now lives in Blanchardstown.

Get up the yard. That's like moving across the road.

edit: Alright, done a bit of youtubing. Proper D4 accent on him for somebody from Mulhuddart.

[Diable Rouge]

https://twitter.com/SeanDefoe/status/1227573395279241218

[Nocturnal Submission]

So, what's the current constitutional state of play? Does the President ask the leader of the biggest party, by seats presumably, to try to form a government?

[Lang Spoon]

The Dail vote for a Taoiseach next week. And fail to do so. This could go on for months.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

https://twitter.com/SeanDefoe/status/1227573395279241218

This is because the far left in Ireland is made up of a heady mix of manipulative narcissists with a jesus complex, and rage fuelled rabble rousers who oppose things for the sake of opposing them so they can be seen to be fighting injustice, whether that is the unfair distribution of wealth in Ireland, or any effort to tax and redistribute that wealth. They're not a coherent movement, they're a bunch of attention seekers whose major achievement is to relentless attack anyone on the 'left' who is less righteous than them, or has to compromise with external reality. This is a tale as old as time over here. Joe Higgins had a bit more about him, and at least had a positive vision of some sort of better future, but economically he was a bit of a menace.

[Diable Rouge]

So, what's the current constitutional state of play? Does the President ask the leader of the biggest party, by seats presumably, to try to form a government?

There's no automatic prerogative for the largest party - numerous times where FG and Labour formed a government despite being only the second and third biggest parties. The situation is complicated this time by the closeness of the result - FF technically won the election by one seat, due to the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker), but have allowed SF first go, due to the latter having the highest popular vote.

[Nocturnal Submission]

There's no automatic prerogative for the largest party - numerous times where FG and Labour formed a government despite being only the second and third biggest parties. The situation is complicated this time by the closeness of the result - FF technically won the election by one seat, due to the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker), but have allowed SF first go, due to the latter having the highest popular vote.

Ah, OK. Thanks. Does the President have a role to play or is it purely an inter-party process?

[Diable Rouge]

As Lang said, the various parties will spend the next few weeks talking among themselves, and a number of Dáil votes will be held until a government is eventually approved. The Taoiseach only goes to the President to either tell him that there is a majority/confidence and supply agreement (when he would be accompanied by his Cabinet), or to seek a fresh election.

[Diable Rouge]

And unlike in the UK, if Varadkar resigned as FG leader before this process ends, his successor wouldn't automatically become Taoiseach, as that requires formal approval by parliamentary vote (see Bertie Ahern in 1994 being gazumped by John Bruton).

[Diable Rouge]

Howlin resigns as Labour leader:

https://twitter.com/MichealLehane/status/1227620581085982720

[Diable Rouge]

Perhaps more significantly, he says the party should remain in opposition in the coming Dáil.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Don't forget this exciting incident that would come back to blow up brian lenihan.

After haughey's various phonecalls and threats, Hillery went and got the log book and wrote in it that the soldier that took the phone calls, was acting at all times under his direct orders, and since he was following direct commands from his commander in chief, no disciplinary or punitive action was to be taken against him.

[anton pulisov]

Belgium did well enough without a government.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Belgium did well enough without a government.

Belgium barely needs a central govt at all. they're as much a series of small regions operating under a flag of convenience as a country. We on the other hand don't have a local govt at all.

[Nocturnal Submission]

As Lang said, the various parties will spend the next few weeks talking among themselves, and a number of Dáil votes will be held until a government is eventually approved. The Taoiseach only goes to the President to either tell him that there is a majority/confidence and supply agreement (when he would be accompanied by his Cabinet), or to seek a fresh election.

Thanks. The process seems rather too "adult" to work in most countries!

[Diable Rouge]

It appears FF would rather inflict a second election on the country, rather than do a deal with either SF or FG:

https://twitter.com/irishexaminer/status/1227938103291084803

[Duncan Gardner]

A worry for SF, if their surge is Islandbridge wide yet Inchicore deep...

[Diable Rouge]

https://twitter.com/Philip_Ryan/status/1227965320255725575

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Thanks. The process seems rather too "adult" to work in most countries!

Isn't this more or less the european norm?

[Nocturnal Submission]

Isn't this more or less the european norm?

I've got absolutely no idea but I'd be interested to hear what OTFers around the Continent can tell us.

[ursus arctos]

It does sound pretty standard

[Nocturnal Submission]

I chose a European nation at random (Germany) and had a quick perusal of Wiki:

Whenever the office of Chancellor has fallen vacant, which happens if the Chancellor dies or resigns, or if a newly elected Bundestag ("Federal Diet", the German Parliament) meets for the first time, the Chancellor is elected by a majority of the members of the Bundestag upon the proposal of the President (Bundespräsident, literally "Federal President") ("1st voting phase"). This vote is one of the few cases in which a decision requires a majority of all elected members of the Bundestag, not just a majority of those assembled at the time. This is referred to as the Kanzlermehrheit ("chancellor majority"), and is intended to ensure the establishment of a stable government. It has in the past occasionally forced ill or pregnant members to attend parliament when a party's majority was only slim.^{[citation needed]}

Unlike regular voting by the Bundestag, the vote to elect the chancellor is by secret ballot. This is intended to ensure that the chancellor's majority does not depend on members of their party who might express support in a public setting but be internally opposed.

If the nominee of the President is not elected, the Bundestag may elect its own nominee within fourteen days ("2nd voting phase"). If no one is elected within this period, the Bundestag will hold a last ballot on the 15th day after the first ballot ("3rd voting phase"). If a candidate reaches the "chancellor majority", the President must appoint them. If not, the President may either appoint as Chancellor the candidate who received a plurality of votes (thus allowing the formation of a minority government) or call new elections for the Bundestag within 60 days. As all Chancellors have been elected on the first ballot, as yet (1949–2018) neither of these constitutional provisions has been applied.

The Federal Chancellor is the only member of the federal government elected by the Bundestag. The other cabinet ministers (called Bundesminister, "Federal Ministers") are chosen by the Federal Chancellor, although they are formally appointed by the Federal President on the Federal Chancellor's recommendation

The President does seem to have a role to play in the process.

[ursus arctos]

Maybe I didn't understand you, then

I thought the question was whether it was a leading role