Ireland's two main center-right parties move closer to forming new coalition government

Ireland two main center-right parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, have moved closer to forming a new coalition government by gaining support from a group of conservative independent lawmakers.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, Ireland's two main center-right parties, moved closer to forming a new coalition government on Wednesday by gaining the support of a group of conservative independent lawmakers.

The parties played a key role in electing an independent lawmaker, Verona Murphy, as the speaker of the lower house of parliament.

Fine Gael, led by Prime Minister Simon Harris, and Fianna Fail, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, narrowly missed securing the 88 seats needed to form a majority government in the general election on November 29.

With just two seats short, the parties are now focused on gaining the backing of either independent lawmakers or one of the smaller center-left parties, such as the Labour Party or the Social Democrats, to ensure a stable majority.

Talks are continuing with the center-left parties, but analysts suggest that the chances of securing support from independent lawmakers are higher.

This speculation gained momentum on Wednesday when members of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail backed Murphy, an independent member of the Regional Independent Group, to become the speaker of the lower house.

The speaker role is one of the highest-paying positions in Irish politics.

Ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Harris encouraged his party members to support Murphy as part of the effort to facilitate the formation of a new government.

State broadcaster RTE has reported that this move signals the possibility of a coalition between Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Regional Independent Group.

Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have expressed optimism about reaching an agreement on the new coalition government in the coming weeks, with hopes of finalizing a deal early next year.