Irish Examiner View: Agreement signifies beginning of the end to the way we do politics in Ireland

The foundation of an agreement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil on a joint programme for government represents the biggest polar shift in Irish politics since the Civil War.

Both party leaders face a challenge persuading smaller parties to sign up to the agreement as well as opposition within their own ranks.

The foundation of an agreement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil on a joint programme for government may not be the end of the way we do politics in Ireland but it surely signifies the beginning of the end, representing the biggest polar shift since the Civil War.

Yet if either Leo Varadkar or Micheál Martin are to have any hope of persuading smaller parties to come on board they will have put at least some sturdy scaffolding on the foundation structure they have signed up to.

In order to do that they will also have to face down the naysayers among their own respective ranks who remain steadfastly opposed to any kind of coalition deal between the two historic rivals.

Those intraparty objectors may have to get over themselves and realise the result of the February general election ensured a Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael coalition could not govern alone.

It is the first time in the history of the State that the combined vote of these parties did not constitute a substantial parliamentary majority.

In some ways, the document is a strange instrument, full of promises — or missions as it describes them.

But, most importantly, it is an exercise in realpolitik, a pragmatic response to a political stalemate that recognises the reality of politics in 2020 and proposes a solution based on that reality rather than one grounded in ideology.

After almost a century, it is about time for Civil War to give way to civil peace.