New Irish government

Irish voters have punished the outgoing Fianna Fail-Green coalition government, handing a strong mandate to the centre-right Fine Gael party. The new government's immediate tasks will include tackling the country's economic mess and securing more favourable terms on a recent international bail-out.
Counting will continue in a number of outstanding constituencies on Monday (28 February), with 154 places in the Ireland's 166-seat parliament filled so far: 70 Fine Gael, 36 Labour, 18 Fianna Fail, 13 Sinn Fein, five United Left Alliance and 12 others.
Fianna Fail, which means "soldiers of destiny" in Irish, has governed Ireland for three of every four years over the past eight decades. But voters in Friday's elections took an axe to the party's standing after it presided over the worst economic crash in the state's history. The Green junior coalition party was completely wiped out, losing all six of the party's seats.
Incoming Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny who is set to become prime minister called the vote a "democratic revolution". His party, which is likely to fall six seats short of an overall majority, is predicted to form a coalition government with the centre-left Labour party, which enjoyed its best ever election results. A combination with Independent MPs is also a possibility.

Independent Senator Shane Ross who topped the poll in the Dublin South constituency said his strong support, the rise of a centre-left party and the collapse of Fianna Fail amounted to an "end of tribal politics in Ireland". Born out of Ireland's 1922-23 civil war, the conservative Fianna Fail and Fine Gael parties have dominated the country's political sphere since that date, reducing the importance of the left-right divide typically seen in other European countries.
The new Irish parliament is set to convene for the first time on 9 March, two days before eurozone leaders meet in Brussels to debate ways to reform the bloc's emergency lending fund.
An overhaul of the club's budgetary rules is also on the agenda, as are plans to boost the economic competitiveness of individual member states. Mr Kenny has indicated he will seek a reduction in Ireland's borrowing rate, together with compulsory "haircuts" on unguaranteed senior bank debt, as part of the overall package.
Germany has been a driving force behind the high interest rate attached to EU loans as a means of dissuading potential borrowers, but economists argue that the punitive rate and Ireland's low growth prospects mean the country's debt pile can only go up in the coming years.
Berlin is expected to request something in return from Dublin if it agrees to improved lending terms. Plans for increased eurozone competitiveness, currently being drafted by the staff of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, contain calls for member states to include a 'debt brake' but no provisions on increasing corporate taxation, reports the Financial Times.Ireland has so far resisted Franco-German calls to increase its 12.5 corporation tax, arguing it is key to the country's economic recovery.
Euobserver