Politicians are “on a war footing” for an election in September after Thursday’s Brexit deal.
The main obstacle to an imminent election was the very real possibility of a no deal crash Brexit, either last month or today as two Breit deadlines came and went.
But now that the big beasts of European politics have seen sense and offered Britain a ‘flextension’ (flexible extension), the dangerous uncertainty has eased.
The new deadline is Halloween, October 31st, with the allowance for an earlier exit if the UK can get its own house in order before that part of the agreement.
It’s believed that British Prime Minister Thresa May will want to get the bones of a deal with the House of Commons hammered out before the end of the summer.
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Meanwhile, tensions between the two main parties in the Dáil, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, increasing day by day, TDs are chomping at the bit for an election sooner rather than later.
Fianna Fáil have been propping up Fine Gael in a confidence and supply arrangement for the past three years.
They have basically had to give them plenty of leeway to govern, even when they were bitterly against policies being implemented.
There have also been a number of political controversies that would normally bring down a government - such as the ongoing National Children’s Hospital scandal - which Fianna Fáil have let go.
But with the crippling uncertainty of a crash Brexit receding for the moment, all talk in Leinster House is now about an election again.
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Election posters are being dusted off and party printers will soon go into overdrive producing election flyers.
One senior Fine Gael TD from Munster even went so far as to tell an ardent supporter that he is putting the election in his diary for the second half of September.
Labour leader Brendan Howlin is also readying the troops for a September battle, telling political reporters in Brussels on Wednesday evening that September is the most likely time for the next ballot.
A front bench Fianna Fáil TD told the Irish Mirror on Thursday that the party is now fully “on a war footing” for an election whenever Fine Gael wants to call it.
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The all-round readiness is best illustrated by the fact that all the major parties already have their candidates selected to go in all constituencies, which means they are up for an election fight at any time if Fine Gael want to trigger one.
The power to call an election lies solely with the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have agreed to pass another budget, scheduled for October, as part of their confidence and supply deal.
And Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that he does not want to see an election until the summer of next year,
But it is widely acknowledged that all these dates are just window-dressing and that an election is as likely in September, if not more, as next year.
