Micheál Martin elected as Irish prime minister as new coalition is formed

Micheál Martin is the new taoiseach in a historic three-party coalition which will see former Civil War rivals Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael enter government for the first time in history:https://bbc.in/31meVvN 

Micheal Martin elected Taoiseach with 93 Dail votes to 63 against with 3 abstentions.

Martin's election follows months of negotiations between his party, Fine Gael and the Green Party, to reach an agreement following elections in February, before the onset of the coronavirus crisis

All three parties in Ireland’s next coalition government voted in favor of a pact that brings the nation’s historic political rivals together for the first timehttps://politi.co/2Zi1XwB 

Very impressive grassroots support for Ireland's coalition deal, including 8,194 out of 11,058 @fiannafailparty members. That's 74%. And it was 80% for @FineGael and 76% for the @greenparty_ie. Best of luck to @MichealMartinTD, Ireland's new Taoiseachhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53181372 …

Meanwhile - Irish political parties have agreed extraordinary historic deal which would see rotating taoisigh (plural for taoiseach). Micheál Martin, head of Fianna Fail would be PM for two years, then Varadkar of Fine Gael would step back into role. Greens in govt for 2nd time

Micheál Martin, in first remarks as Taoiseach, says post-#COVID19 “recovery and renewal” will be at heart of what new government will do, promising “a recovery to benefit all our people”.

Taoiseach-elect Micheál Martin tells the #Dáil: "The struggle against the virus is not over. We must continue to contain its spread. We must be ready to tackle any new wave, and we must move forward rapidly to secure a recovery to benefit all of our people."

Taoiseach-elect Micheál Martin: We do not and could not be expected to agree on everything. however, we have been able to agree on core democratic principles and on a balanced and democratic programme… we will work hard to build trust with each other, and with the people"

A waver enters Martin's voice as he mentions his wife Mary, whom he met in college, and his children who "have tolerated many of my absences over the years"

Newly elected Micheál Martin says it is important now to move forward. He says we are meeting away from Leinster House due to a pandemic. There is no part of the country that has escaped untouched.

A debt of gratitude must be acknowledged to frontline workers. He commends Varadkar and Harris for their leadership. He says this is the fastest moving recession to hit Ireland. No one can say today when we will return to normality.

'It is in the spirit of a deep belief in the role of democratic government; with a commitment to delivering the recovery and renewal embodied in our programme, and a determination to work tirelessly to serve the people that I proudly accept your nomination,' Martin concludes

Overcoming tough challenges- lots of language here about struggle and overcoming it. Strong speech overall and well delivered by Micheal Martin

Congratulations to Ireland on forming a new Government and to @MichealMartinTD on becoming Taoiseach. Ireland is our closest neighbour, good friend and ally on issues such as climate change, the global fight against Covid-19 and our shared values on human rights and democracy.

The Republic of Ireland is set to have a rotating Taoiseach for the first time, with Micheál Martin taking the role until the end of 2022.https://twitter.com/i/events/1272539397301260293 …