What if no Rainbow?

[Gladstone]

If they don't make up the numbers next time, and Labour dump Rabbite and go in with FF, will that be the end of FG?

[owenfeehan]

If they don't make up the numbers next time, and Labour dump Rabbite and go in with FF, will that be the end of FG?

The Labour membership do not want to go into coalition with FF. There is effectively zero chance of them dumping Rabbitte in order to do so.

[JohnFitz]

how exactly, it will be the end of the PD's, FG would have the whole opposition to themselves, and thus be the only viable alternative to a party thats been in power for 15 years straight. It would also hurt labour at the next election afterwards, too. In fact you can see FG rising this time, if they were in opposition to a laf/ff govt, they would probably only grow again the time after...

[Gladstone]

Well without Labour they have no way of getting into power, thus would sink into irrelevence.

[blue33]

Well without Labour they have no way of getting into power, thus would sink into irrelevence.

Without Labour, it would be difficult in the short term, but there would be a flood of support to FG from dienchanted Labour voters, pushing FG up to the seat numbers they had under Fitzgerald.

[Casualbets]

The numbers at present would seem to suggest either a FF/LAB coalition or (much less likely) a grand coalition of FG/LAB/GP with the PDs or independents.

A FF/LAB coalition would allow FG to put clear blue water between it and the government on policy issues, something which it is not able to do at present as it's situated between FF and the PDs on the political spectrum. It would further benefit from being the only practical alternative to a FF/LAB government.

[barthez]

Gods covenant with his people will come to an end.

The skys will darken - and it will rain for fourty days and nights.

All the peoples of the world will drown in the second great flood.

[Gladstone]

Are you all saying it would move FG to the right economically?

Are there enough liberal votes for them to get in alone?

[agora]

Does anyone think we'll ever see a Grand Coalition, like in Germany? Obviously there's far less difference between FF and FG than between the SPD and CDU, but if the numbers and hardened attitudes meant that an FF-FG coalition was the only viable option, would such a combination work and how long would it last?

[Liberal333]

What could happen though is a union between FG and the PDs into one big opposition party, something like the lib dems in england. I would vote for that.....