Irish PM looks for allies as third term beckons

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern was set to clinch a third term yesterday and begin the search for new coalition partners, after his parliamentary ally for the past 10 years suffered heavy election losses.

With 90 per cent of seats filled, broadcaster RTE predicted Ahern's Fianna Fail party would win 78 seats in parliament, five short of a majority but one more than a potential opposition alliance of Fine Gael, left-leaning Labour and the Green Party.

His junior coalition partner, the Progressive Democrats, were set to win two seats - down from eight in the last parliament - forcing Ahern to consider a range of options to secure a government capable of lasting a full five-year term.

Formal coalition talks were unlikely to begin until counting has finished, a process that could still take some days. Bookmakers Paddy Power offered odds on five combinations involving Fianna Fail, making a pact with the Greens a narrow favourite ahead of the current coalition, which would need to rely on independents given the Progressive Democrats' demise. The Green Party campaigned for a change of government and has clashed with Fianna Fail over its energy policy, plans to cut taxes, and close ties with Ireland's construction industry. Greens leader Trevor Sargent told Reuters the party was ready to enter government for the first time, and he left open the possibility of a deal with Fianna Fail.

The Greens were set to win six seats, unchanged from the last election in 2002. Fine Gael, the main opposition party, had yet to concede defeat but its leader, Enda Kenny, accepted Ahern had "more options" in terms of forming a government.

Ahern may yet secure a slim majority with independent lawmakers and the remaining Progressive Democrats, but he appears to want a more solid platform after 10 years in power. Support from the Greens, or the Labour Party which had ruled out sharing power with Fianna Fail, would give him that.

Ahern, who was also finance minister in the early 1990s, has seen Ireland transformed from one of Europe's most impoverished nations into one of its wealthiest during his decade in power. He also helped bring peace to Northern Ireland. He faced a tough fight from an opposition who accused him of squandering the spoils of Ireland's economic success and neglecting overburdened health and transport systems. Fianna Fail's campaign for re-election got off to a shaky start after fresh revelations over Ahern's personal finances. Rivals who had expected to do better said voters opted for what they knew. Labour said fears of an economic "wobble" meant voters had opted not to "change horses in mid-stream".