Ireland’s Varadkar stands by deputy amid election threat

Bloomberg

Ireland’s government pledged to stand by its embattled deputy leader, raising the stakes in a stand-off which could lead to a surprise general election.
Prime Minister Leo Varadkar won’t “abandon” his deputy, Frances Fitzgerald, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said in a RTE radio interview after opposition political forces demanded she resign over her handling of a whistle blower controversy. Fitzgerald faces a “trumped up charge,” Varadkar told his party lawmakers. Fianna Fail, the biggest opposition party, called on Fitzgerald to step down over how lawyers planned to aggressively question a police whistle blower while she was justice minister. Fitzgerald maintains she did
nothing wrong.
While Varadkar said he didn’t want an election, without support from Fianna Fail, the minority government could fall. Parliament will debate a no-confidence motion in Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald stepping down “is the only way to avoid a general election,” Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin in an interview with RTE radio, adding he was open to further talks in an effort to resolve the issue.

DELICATE TIME
The affair comes at a delicate time for the government, as it moves toward a decision on the Brexit process. The Irish border is one of three key issues that have been identified, along with citizens’ rights and money owed by the UK, that require “sufficient progress” toward a resolution before the EU will allow talks to move on to Britain’s future trade relationship with the bloc.
“The timing is an issue when considering the crucial December meeting, where Ireland will require a strong leader to deal with possible political pressure regarding the progress of Brexit talks,” said Ryan McGrath, head of fixed-income strategy at Cantor Fitzgerald LP. “Having Varadkar attend as a lame duck could potentially be very disadvantageous for Ireland.”

BREAK LOGJAM
Martin said if the government fell, an election would have to be held before Christmas. Still, he said he wasn’t trying to undermine the government in Brexit talks, as parliament was united behind the “core principle” of keeping the Irish border open.
UK officials tried to accelerate Brexit negotiations by suggesting that rather than wielding its veto next month, Ireland could hold fire and block a final accord if it wished, three people familiar with the talks said. European officials said while such an
approach could eventually be part of the solution, it won’t be enough to break the logjam next month.