Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar has proudly announced that his party is ready to join a new government coalition tomorrow.
The party has backed going back into power by an overwhelming majority of 80% to 20%.
Outgoing Taoiseach and party leader, Mr Varadkar, formally announced the results outside the party’s headquarters on Mount Street in Dublin this evening.
He said: “As President of Fine Gael I am pleased to confirm that my party has voted 80% in favour of entering coalition.
“All sections of the party, the parliamentary, the councillors, the executive, the constituencies voted in favour.
“So Fine Gael is going to enter a third term in government and this new coalition united and strong, and determined to help the country get through the Covid emergency and to getting people back to work and getting businesses open and to introducing some of the reforms and changes that we got started in the past couple of weeks.”
He said that he was confident the other two parties, Fianna Fáil and the Greens, would also pass the votes sometime tonight.
“I was talking to the Fianna Fáil leader earlier on and he said the indications are good.
“It’s too early to say for the Green Party.
“But I’m confident and hopeful that we’ll see all three parties endorsing this coalition agreement today so that we can have a new government tomorrow and get down to working again.
“That’s the most important thing.
He added: “Our party has a simple majority, 50% plus one, and we’ve had a very clear majority, 80 to 20 in favour.
“All four sections of the electoral college voted in favour.
“I wasn’t sure if we’d win all four, but we did, so that’s a very strong mandate for a third term in government.”
