IRELAND'S new premier is set to be elected later after political rivals agreed to form a historic governing coalition.
Micheal Martin, the Fianna Fail leader, will be elected Taoiseach at a special meeting of the Irish parliament.
Voters went to the polls in February’s general election, but no party received a majority – and coalition talks were then paused amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Fianna Fail and Fine Gael both needed support from the Green Party to achieve a working majority in the Dail.
But yesterday members of all three parties backed a programme for government – and a historic coalition will now be formed.
After the deal was agreed, Martin said it was a “moment of opportunity and hope”. He is expected to be Taoiseach for two and a half years before handing the job over to Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, who is currently the caretaker Taoiseach.
However, Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said February was the change election and Sinn Fein won more votes than any other party.
She said Fianna Fail and Fine Gael conspired against the party to exclude it from government and the voices of more than half a million people who voted for them.
She described the coalition between the two parties as a "marriage of convenience".
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