The Irish government folds

Yesterday, Brian Cowen resigned; today his government has imploded. The Green Party, which was bolstering Cowen’s ruling coalition (if such a phrase is applicable in this instance), have left the government. The Fianna Fail-led coalition is now two votes short of a majority, and therefore the finance bill may not pass in its current form. If that is so, Ireland may return to the precipice on which it found itself a couple of months ago, and its principal creditors and trading partners with it.

But there is more to this than balance sheets. In his statement, the leader of the Greens said that the people had lost confidence in the political process. It’s hard to demur. Politicians have been at their most desperate and devious in recent weeks, trying to cleanse themselves of Cowen’s tarnish ahead of March’s elections. Cowen’s opportunistic resignation as the leader of Fianna Fail has been eviscerated and I imagine the Greens will receive similar opprobrium in the coming weeks, for it is easy to perceive cynicism in their withdrawal.