Forming the next Irish Government - policies and personalities

When you no longer stand for anything but the maintenance of power you will hold on to it for a while.

The opposition just need to bide their time and watch your combined vote fall until there are no more assorted grifters and parish pump opportunists left to shore you up.

The one and only accomplishment of the current opposition is biding their time. And at the rate they are going they will be biding it long into the future.

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From observance the main opposition refused to be something or 'stand for something' they weren't and didn't chase a vote they could not stomach even if it meant not getting into power.

Will that pay dividends, who knows. But I know what side I want to be on. Let the zero sum game FF FG are insisting on playing (with some brazen aplomb I have to admit - Lowry etc) continue, the circus is just getting going.

Because they don't want another election before the end of 2025?

The far right targeted SF's core vote (see the core messaging and abuse of SF candidates across media and social media)and failed to make any inroads.

Think what you like jh79 and try open rabbit holes and deflect to those living rent free in your head, I could nearly write your replies at this stage.
My core point remains - the FF FG grip on power will remain but it is slowly weakening even if people remain in denial. Will the bolt hole of depending on parish pump politicians bolster their chances or is it a last bolthole? That is the question.

Like forcing him out of the party and making it clear his comment were not going to be tolerated?

That support went elsewhere/turned against them because it was made clear that SF would not be amplifying it.
IMO a lot of it was not truly 'far-right' and was led up a path by what is a noisy rabble (the actual far-right) which is being found out. Those who turned to the far-right because they were angry/frightened and kept in the dark by government policy can be won back. Remains to be seen if SF can do that.
Meanwhile you will studiously ignore the big questions for FF FG and whether their current (IMO) desperate dalliances with a rattlebag of parish pump politicians will grow their support or will their share continue to decline towards a tipping point.

This narrative that Sinn Fein saw off the far right as some kind of virtuous defenders of enlightened values is just compete and utter bullsh!t, you are right to call it out. If Sinn Fein lost votes to the far-right, it can only be because SF were attractive to those with a far right viewpoint. Usually parties lose votes to those closest to them in outlook as the electorate shifts position. In this case, Sinn Fein lost votes to the far right because while far right enough to attract those votes in the first place, they were not far right enough to retain those votes.

Sinn Fein lost 20% of their vote from 2020 to 2024, making them at least the second-worst if not the worst performing main opposition party in the history of the state. They lost votes to all parties.

They have a lot of issues and the party is at a major crossroads. Who knows where it will turn?

he has his whole family as politicians to look after local stuff

Coalitions are the norm in most democracies, outside of the US and the UK, of course China and Russia are singular examples also of single-party government. What is wrong with a coalition?

That Irish government you mentioned was a coalition except for the fact Fianna Fail were afraid to call it one.

If the party in minority power can only do stuff after consulting the opposition then there really isn't much difference.

In fact that government he mentioned was an effective coalition of FF, FG and regional independents, now why would that be a good idea then but a bad idea now?