Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen's government was in tatters Sunday after the junior coalition partners pulled out, in a move likely to spark elections even earlier than those planned for March 11.
Green Party leader John Gormley told a press conference in Dublin that "our patience has reached an end" after a week of political turmoil that resulted in Cowen quitting as leader of his ruling Fianna Fail party on Saturday. "Because of these continuing doubts, the lack of communication and the breakdown in trust, we have decided that we can no longer continue in government," Gormley said after talks with his party's national executive.
The move plunges Ireland into deeper chaos as it struggles to recover from a debt crisis that brought the economy to its knees and forced Dublin to accept an international bailout in November.
Parliament must still pass a finance bill comprising spending cuts and tax hikes which are seen as a pre-condition for loans worth 67 billion euros (90 billion dollars) from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. All the main parties are committed to getting the bill through before an election and Gormley said this had not changed.
AFP
Green Party leader John Gormley told a press conference in Dublin that "our patience has reached an end" after a week of political turmoil that resulted in Cowen quitting as leader of his ruling Fianna Fail party on Saturday. "Because of these continuing doubts, the lack of communication and the breakdown in trust, we have decided that we can no longer continue in government," Gormley said after talks with his party's national executive.
The move plunges Ireland into deeper chaos as it struggles to recover from a debt crisis that brought the economy to its knees and forced Dublin to accept an international bailout in November.
Parliament must still pass a finance bill comprising spending cuts and tax hikes which are seen as a pre-condition for loans worth 67 billion euros (90 billion dollars) from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. All the main parties are committed to getting the bill through before an election and Gormley said this had not changed.
AFP
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