Sir, – The joint document from the Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil talks makes for dismal reading. It smacks of the 1977 Fianna Fáil manifesto from which the country did not recover for at least 15 years. There is no recognition of the depth of the global economic recession that will follow on the heels of Covid-19, coupled with an assumption that there will be money to pay for all the aspirations. What is most worrying is that all this has come about because the present Fianna Fáil leader is desperate to become taoiseach. I fail to see why Fine Gael should facilitate his ambition. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET LEE,
Newport,
Co Tipperary.
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Sir, – The general election of 1992 saw Fine Gael lose 10 seats, returning 45 TDs. The same election saw Labour under Dick Spring get its greatest ever amount of seats, with 33. Fine Gael was demoralised. Fine Gael’s morale was further dented when Labour decided to go into government with Fianna Fáil. The future was looking ominous for Fine Gael. That is until Labour pulled out of government in 1994 and went into a rainbow coalition with Fine Gael and Democratic Left. Labour saved Fine Gael from further decline. The 2020 general election saw Fine Gael have an extremely poor election. With just 20 per cent of the vote and reduced to 36 seats, Fine Gael was again looking for a saviour. The saviour came, and it is not the coronavirus outbreak but Fianna Fáil. Like Fine Gael’s previous saviour, Labour, Fianna Fáil will go the same way – into near-oblivion. Micheál Martin is prepared to jeopardise the future of Fianna Fáil to satisfy his ambition to be taoiseach. – Is mise,
SEÁN BROSNAN,
Dingle,
Co Kerry.