Editorial: when the votes are counted

For an election that has been a long time coming, voting day has crept up very fast. In the last three weeks, we’ve seen leaders jiving in shops, an on-board buffalo moment, stand-out ‘how dare you’ comments and plenty of promises.

It’s been a quick and intense campaign trail but time will start to slow when the all-important count starts to take shape. And what could be even more snail-paced is forming a new government. In the recent American election, the sheer speed in which the incoming president was announced gave many voters a form of whiplash but that kind of car crash TV will play out in slower motion this side of the water.

There’s lots we can’t predict about the coming days but some things are certain. First off, although we don’t know who will be sitting in the seats yet, our incoming Dáil will be the largest in the history of the state. As of 2023, constituencies have changed and 14 seats have been added meaning that 174 TDs will emerge elected across 43 voting areas of Ireland. Your vote really does matter.

Coalition on the cards

A coalition is a certainty. Park the fact that it has been more than four decades since a single party has won more than half of the seats. Let’s look at the current 174 seats – a single party will need to take 88 of those to win a majority. Not one of the parties has enough candidates to make up those numbers, and that’s even before a vote is cast.

And so, when the votes are counted, those politicians that have thrown stones at each other will have to buckle down, dissect their policies, and muddle together to come up with a coalition government that can actually make an impact in terms of housing, immigration, agriculture, health, education and pensions.

And if you thought that time slowed down through the count, expect things to get a whole lot more pronounced in the coming weeks. In 2020, it took nearly four months before a government was formed. And we don’t have that luxury now, especially in light of the urgency around some of the areas of our society that need addressing.

However, there are merits to taking our time and allowing an array of voices to be heard, not only in determining our domestic policies, but also our international policies around climate change, economics, the situation in Gaza and the Ukraine. In fact, although our system is not without its flaws, there are other countries who may well be looking at our situation with a certain degree of envy. After all, it’s not just America where we’re seeing one powerful voice leading the show. Governments led by far-right parties have been elected in the Netherlands, Italy and Austria. Germany’s Thuringia region also voted strongly in favour of the far-right and in Romania, the presidential election has just seen a far-right candidate cause a shock.

There may have been plenty of theatrics on the campaign trail here at home but in the formation of government, a fair share of rationale is needed and should be welcomed.