Ireland’s embattled prime minister has been forced to go to the polls in March as the financial crisis continues to stoke political tensions inside the eurozone.
Brian Cowen’s move came after his allies in the ruling coalition threatened to pull out of the government if he did not abandon a proposed cabinet reshuffle – seen by opposition parties as an attempt to bolster the electoral chances of his Fianna Fáil party – and name an election date.
Fianna Fáil, which has been in power for 20 of the past 23 years, looks destined to lose heavily, according to opinion polls. If that happens, the present coalition would become the first eurozone government to fall as a consequence of the currency’s debt crisis.
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