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Ireland could face snap election over future of deputy PM Ireland faces possible snap election over police scandal
(about 7 hours later)
Ireland is in danger of a snap election over the future of its deputy prime minister, who faces a vote of no confidence in the country’s parliament next week. Ireland is on the verge of a snap election after the party that props up the country’s minority coalition government threatened to pull down the administration over a police whistleblower scandal.
Frances Fitzgerald, the tánaiste, faces calls from the opposition to resign as the second most powerful politician in the Irish cabinet over her handling of a police whistleblower scandal that has come back to haunt the government in Dublin. The prime minister, Leo Varadkar, faces the prospect of going to the polls next month in the middle of a crucial summit on the EU, Britain and Brexit at which the stakes are high for the Irish Republic.
The controversy focuses on an email from May 2015 which outlined how legal teams for Nóirín O’Sullivan, then the commissioner of the Garda Síochána, and Maurice McCabe, a garda officer and whistleblower, clashed at an inquiry into the latter’s allegations of police malpractice. The prospect of a Christmas general election emerged over the last 24 hours following a row about emails from the deputy prime minister, Frances Fitzgerald, into how police deal with a whistleblower alleging corruption and malpractice.
The email related to a strategy drawn up by the high command of Ireland’s police service against Sgt McCabe. The focus is on an email from May 2015, which outlined how legal teams for Nóirín O’Sullivan, then the police commissioner, and Maurice McCabe, a police officer and whistleblower, clashed at an inquiry into the latter’s allegations of police malpractice. The email related to a strategy Sgt McCabe’s supporters claim was drawn up by the police high command to discredit him.
Fitzgerald has claimed that she doesn’t remember the email and that, in any event, she could not have legally intervened over it. Asked in an interview with the national broadcaster RTE whether the only thing that could prevent a snap election was the resignation of Fitzgerald, senior Fianna Fáil member Dara Calleary said: “I think so.”
Her Fine Gael party – including the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar – are thought to have rallied around Fitzgerald on Thursday night. Fitzgerald had claimed that she did not remember the email, and that, in any event, she could not have legally intervened. Her defenders in the ruling Fine Gael party have said there is a judicial inquiry into the handling of the way Sgt McCabe was treated and that should be allowed to run its course.
Varadkar told an emergency meeting of his Dáil deputies and senators in Dublin that he will not allow Fitzgerald to be “thrown under the bus”. Fine Gael deputies in the Irish parliament on Thursday night appeared to rally round the deputy PM. She also received the backing of Varadkar and his foreign minister, Simon Coveney.
Fine Gael, the largest party in the minority coalition, then voted for a motion in support of Fitzgerald keeping her job. Coveney said on Thursday that the judicial inquiry into the McCabe affair should be allowed to finish. “We should allow that process to conclude these issues rather than trying to prejudge them now in a way that, I believe, to be unfair to Frances Fitzgerald,” he said.
Eoghan Murphy, Fine Gael’s housing minister, insisted Fitzgerald had “acted appropriately” in relation to the inquiry into McCabe’s claims about Garda corruption and malpractice. On Friday morning Coveney said the last thing Ireland needs is a general election in the middle of crucial Brexit negotiations.
Fitzgerald has denied she was party to any strategy to undermine McCabe’s credibility. While Fine Gael parliamentarians passed a motion of support for Ftizgerald, the party relies on the goodwill of the main opposition party, Fianna Fáil, to remain in power.
But the main opposition party, Fianna Fáil, confirmed on Thursday night that it was preparing for a vote of no confidence in Fitzgerald. Fianna Fáil operates a policy similar to the Democratic Unionists at Westminster in a so-called “confidence and supply” strategy. Like the DUP in London, Fianna Fáil in Dublin props up a minority Fine Gael-led government by backing it only in votes of no confidence in the Dáil. Senior sources in Fianna Fáil said that “confidence and supply” strategy was “dead in the water” if Fine Gael continued to insist Fitzgerald remain in office.
Fine Gael relies on a “confidence and supply” arrangement with Fianna Fáil to keep it in power. Following an indecisive general election in 2016, Fianna Fáil in effect declared a temporary political ceasefire to allow a government to function as Ireland worked its way towards economic recovery. Fianna Fáil will table a no confidence measure on Friday that could precipitate a general election either before Christmas or possibly early in the new year. It appears likely that mid-January may be the preferred time for a fresh election, Fianna Fáil sources said.
It means that while Fianna Fáil does not back all legislation the Fine Gael/Independent coalition introduces, it has not so far supported any no-confidence motions in the government from rival opposition parties, such as Sinn Féin. One Fianna Fáil source said: “Someone in Fine Gael will have to talk to Fitzgerald over the weekend and convince her to resign.”
But one Fianna Fáil source told the Guardian on Thursday night that the “confidence and supply” arrangement may be coming to an end. Sinn Féin’s deputy leader, Mary Lou McDonald, accused the deputy PM of having “clearly failed in her duties” when she learned about a strategy that was “so utterly malicious and designed ... to ruin Sgt McCabe’s life”. McDonald, who is hotly tipped to succeed Gerry Adams as the next Sinn Féin president, claimed Fitzgerald should have acted to counter this strategy she learned about in the email sent to her in May 2015.
The source said the chances of a general election, possibly in early 2018, was “50-50” at present. The controversial email from that year refers to an allegation that “a serious criminal complaint against Sergeant McCabe (which he has always denied) had not been properly investigated by the Garda Siochana [police]”.
They added that Fitzgerald should be persuaded to resign shortly, otherwise there would be an election at Christmas or in early 2018. Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin have claimed that this email was evidence that the legal team acting for the police were using “aggressive tactics” against Sgt McCabe and that Fitzgerald should have acted on it. Fitzgerald has insisted she had no legal powers to intervene in the way the police legal team were acting.
Earlier on Thursday night, Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesman, Jim O’Callaghan, said Fitzgerald should go.
Sinn Féin’s deputy leader, Mary Lou McDonald, who is tipped to become the party’s next president, accused the tánaiste of having “clearly failed in her duties” when she learned the Garda strategy “was so utterly malicious and designed to ... ruin Sgt McCabe’s life”.
Sinn Fein and Fianna Fáil claim that the tánaiste should have acted when the email was initially sent to her in May 2015.