Michael Clifford: Time to press the reset button

A traumatised country will need an administration that has a sound mandate and the confidence to carry it out, writes Michael Clifford

Bags containing ballot papers are moved at the count centre at Nemo Rangers GAA club, Cork, last February. Now, 59 days on from the election, with the only prospective administration being a combination of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and an assortment of Independents, it is time to prepare for another election later in the year, writes Michael Clifford. Picture: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty

Fifty nine days and a lifetime of events since the general election and there’s no escaping the painful reality that it’s time to go to the people again. The prospective incoming administration is probably the last thing the country needs right now.

Barring a volte-face by one of the smaller parties, the next government will be made up of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and a bunch of Independents. Nobody voting on February 8 saw this coming.