WHEN FORMER Taoiseach Charlie Haughey decided to do up his ottice a tew years ago - on the public purse, of course - local wits dubbed building scrubbed clean of limestone Dublin smog. the "Chas Mahal".
But the man's less-thansportess reputation was the main factor in his fall from n government continue to cast heir long shadow over hi Flanna Fail party.
An inquiry into the complex connections between past Fianna Fail governments and the collapsed meat empire of even sparked off Ireland's evidence between Haughey's successor Albert Reynolds and coalition partner Des O'Malley of the Progressive Democrats.
Fianna Fail lost 10 seats in Dublin and the lary er urban areas, mostly to Labour. The party, which has dominated politics since the foundation of the Free State, failed for the an overall majority and of the vote since de Valera led it into the Dail in 1927.
A longer term process is at al base of small farmers, small town bourgeoise and working class cracks under the Pressures austerity, economic crisis and the declining influence of the Catholic Church.
abour more than doubled its seats from 16 to 33 in the tion to dictate who formed the Mixture The Irish Labour Party is an eclectic mixture of libertarian socialists like Michael D. Higgins, republicans such as Declan Bree and the fiercely anti-nationalist Jim Kemmy, combined with radical petty-bourgeois elements who "modernisation and who formed the core of Mary Robinson's support in the presidential elections.
The next govemment is almost certain to be a Fianna tragic sequence of events began Fail/Labour coalition, despite the newspaper editorials urging a "rainbow coalition" between Labour, Fine Gael and the Progressive Democrats.
Labour leader Dick Spring has been a fierce critic of Fianna Fail corruption and one of two people wrongly expected him to hold out for the rotation of the office of Taoiseach with Reynolds, but he seems likely to settle for minister of foreign affairs and the post of Taniste (deputy prime minister).
pring's highly public bu Itimately abortive courtship of Democratic Left was based on recognition that participation in a right-wing goverment would leave him exposed on his left flank.
The Workers' Party lost its one remaining seat while the Dom the Workor Party Part year, is down from six seats to our. Sinn Fein's percentage o he vote dropped from 1.8 pe cent to 1.6 per cent.
While the overall vote for the right wine are rele per cent, the serious ditferences between them means that political instability islikely Certainly not Mr Right any more: Charlie Haughey to continue, adding to the op portunities for the left.
The fragmentation and shift ties can also be seen in the vote held on the same day as the general election.
A woman's right to information and to travel abroad for an abortion were both passed, but an amendment allowing abortion where the woman's life was threatened (except by suicide) was defeated. Pro-choice activists had called for a no vote on the last issue, as it did not allow abortion in cases where the woman's health was at risk.
One of the conditions of Labour participation in a coalition is a Bill to legalise abortion in some cases and to try to get the constitutional ban divorce removed, as well as liberalising the law homosexuality.