Ireland’s 2 main parties to jointly govern for first time

Four months after an election that brought down its government but settled little else, Ireland’s two main parties struck an agreement Monday to govern together for the first time, opening an unpredictable chapter in Irish politics as the country faces the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Leaders of the parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, signed off on a draft agenda for a coalition government that will include a third party, the Greens, but not Sinn Fein, a party the coalition partners were eager keep out of the government. The two parties will rotate the prime minister’s job, with the Fianna Fail leader, Micheal Martin, initially replacing the current prime minister, Leo Varadkar of Fine Gael.