The elections are done and dusted, this thread is for the coalition negotiations which are about to begin.
Although some version of FF/FG+ will be the inevitable result, these negotiations will probably last until Christmas i.e. the new Dáil may fail to elect a Taoiseach at its first sitting on 18 December.
SF are going through the motions. It's hard to believe power seemed theirs for the taking just a year ago. Labour and SDs would love to play hard to get but I think the penny has dropped that they are not wanted by FG and they will only be used by FF as bargaining chips to show FG that there are other options. All those warnings about the price which smaller parties (the Greens, Labour, PDs) paid for involvement in Government are just hot air - FF and FG will be only too glad to leave the small parties outside.
There are ample options among the Independents who will cooperate pragmatically with FF/FG. My guess is that a half-dozen or more Independents will eventually help elect Micheál as the next Taoiseach with a respectable majority.
FF and FG ran on different election manifestos and insist on their distinct political identities but, bizarrely, the issue of a rotating Taoiseach - a concept which was ridiculed until 2020 - may be the main sticking point.
https://x.com/irishdailymail/status/1864214304569929741?s=61
