Name? Micheál Martin
Westphalian identity? Irish
Age? 59
Why is he in the news? The Irish Parliament has elected Martin as the new Prime Minister for Ireland under a landmark coalition agreement between two previously warring political parties.
Why do we care? Apart from the two parties (Fianna Fail and Fine Gael) not having formed a coalition since the 1920s, the new coalition is one of the first time’s where a coalition agreement included a switch of Prime Minister during the middle of the term. Martin will hold the title until December 2022, when the coalition opposite, and deputy prime minister, Leo Varadkar, will then become the Prime Minister.
Why should you care? This coalition agreement is the first of its kind, and is possibly the result of Ireland’s complicated and fractured political scene. Yet, in this day and age, which country doesn’t have a highly fractured political scene…? Could this suggest the rise of not only more fragmented political leaders, but also dual-led countries, with more frequent yet stable successions between leaders of opposing parties? Only time will tell if the Irish coalition model will work for Ireland (and potentially other countries).
Who else cares? Boris Johnson. A friendlier counterpart in Dublin would really help Johnson actually make an advancement with the EU in ever solving the Irish border question. That said, Martin is aware of the uphill climb Johnson faces and is quite unlikely to want to make it easier for further problems to take place between the two Irelands.
Any further comments? Coalition governments are a fascination of parliamentary democracies in that coalitions can often be extremely complex, while also offering startling revelations of what party leaders will do to gain a modicum of power. Nick Clegg, the ex-British Deputy Prime Minister, was the latest and most notable victim (in the West) of how coalition governments can sometimes (often) not work out for the minority party,
