Sinn Fein Pushes for Power as Irish Parties Limber For Talks

Fianna Fail, Sinn Fein, Green Party government now favorite
Left wing topples Ireland’s two-party political system

Mary Lou McDonald, left, greets supporters in Dublin City Centre on Feb. 10.Photographer: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

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By Peter Flanagan

February 11, 2020 at 12:30 AM UTC

Updated on

February 11, 2020 at 12:25 PM UTC

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Sinn Fein prepared to play a pivotal role in efforts to form a government, after smashing the two-party system which dominated the Irish state for much of its history.

After winning the popular vote in the Feb. 8 general election, Sinn Fein party leader Mary Lou McDonald laid out a plan to forge a left-wing alliance with parties including the Greens and the Social Democrats. Coalition talks are set to start in earnest in coming days.