The Wanganui Chronicle MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 1927. IRISH FREE STATE CRISIS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19919, 15 August 1927, Page 6

The Wanganui Chronicle MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 1927. IRISH FREE STATE CRISIS

Irish Free State politics are again in a tangle, the unravelling of which promises to be a complicated process. The first stage of the straightening out is expected to-morrow, when a division will be taken on the Public Safety Bill. It is regarded as a foregone conclusion that the result of the vote will be the defeat of the Cosgrave Ministry, followed by its resignation. After that, what ?

No single party in the Dail is strong enough to carry on against the others, so unless there is to be another general election, a coalition of some sort will have to be effected. But, according to latest advices, the chances for a coalition of any permanence seem problematical. The Opposition parties will ally themselves against the Government on the question of the Bill above-mentioned, but what is likely to happen after that seems obscure.

A day or two ago, it was expected that the Labour Party would be called to office with the general support of the parties led by Mr De Valera and Captain Redmond, and colour was lent to this by the fact that, on the De Valeraites taking the oath, they were introduced by Captain Redmond and the Labour leader, Mr Johnson. It was expected at the same time that, while no De Valeraite would be included in the new Cabinet, Captain Redmond would be, on account of his following holding the balance of power.

Nothing definite has since transpired to upset this calculation, but to-day’s messages hint that it is by no means certain that such a coalition will eventuate. There is a growing belief, it is said, that the Redmond party will not join forces with either Labour or the De Valeraites. If this is correct, it would seem to indicate that they prefer to hold the balance of power without Cabinet representation, in which case they will be a small knot of eight men dictating to the Cabinet as the price of keeping it in office. Captain Redmond refuses to disclose his party’s intentions at present and, with a touch of the dramatic, is withholding the information till Tuesday’s division takes place.

Whichever party takes office, however, would seem to be in for a somewhat precarious existence, only to be sustained by a bargain of some sort, and the prospect of a stable political situation during the term of the present Dail certainly does not seem too hopeful. At the same time, they all seem cheerful enough about it. Though the De Valeraites’ reservation with regard to the meaning of the oath leaves a decidedly unpleasant impression, both Mr Cosgrave and Captain Redmond welcome their entry to the Dail as the best thing that has happened for years. Probably they are right; whatever happens now will be done according to constitutional form instead of by violence and, from this point of view, the De Valera party will probably do less mischief in the Dail than they might do outside it.

Further developments will be awaited with interest, and also with the hope that, whatever happens, the difficulty c.f achieving some sort of unity among the diverse groups which now comprise the Dail will be successfully overcome.