Irish Fine Gael, Labour May Form Coalition in Power Shift
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Ireland’s two largest opposition parties may form a coalition government after the collapse of the banking system and an international bailout handed Fianna Fail a record election defeat.
Counting will continue today to fill the 166-seat parliament, with an exit poll giving Fine Gael and the Labour Party a combined 57 percent of the vote. Support for Fianna Fail, which has ruled for the last 14 years, slumped to 15 percent from 42 percent in the 2007 election, the poll showed.