A chara, – Your editorial "The crisis must force a deal soon" (March 31st) states that the Green Party's participation in government "would also have fulfilled, at least in part, the mood for change which dominated the election campaign".
Any honest appraisal of the election campaign and the actual results could only conclude that it was a mandate for change, not a “mood”. Moods are transient, sometimes mercurial, often contradictory, even for editorial writers.
Is it really necessary to go over the results again? Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil lost heavily. The highest first-preference total (well over half a million), the highest percentage (24.5 per cent), the biggest gains (22 to 37 TDs) were for Sinn Féin. Yet you tell us that both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil ruled out a deal with Sinn Féin “for valid reasons”.
And that’s it, over half a million voters dismissed. I sincerely hope the Green Party, the Social Democrats and the Labour Party hold to their position of not propping up a Fine Gael- Fianna Fáil coalition.
The electorate demanded real change, not more of the same and a few crumbs from the table when the “mood” takes the political establishment. –Is mise,
MÍCHEÁL
MAC DONNCHA,
Cill Bharróg,
Baile Átha Cliath 5.