But Martin did — and vowed not to let Sinn Féin get its way.
“You’ve created a new precedent,” he told McDonald. “We’re now in a new position where, if you successfully barrack and intimidate people enough, you will get your way. And we can’t allow that (to) happen.”
He noted how Sinn Féin, once the public face of the outlawed Irish Republican Army, hadn’t even recognized the political legitimacy of the Republic of Ireland until the mid-1980s when it started to contest Irish elections here.
Martin said he feared that Ireland’s democratic system faced “a new era of total opposition” by Sinn Féin “making it impossible to do business unless the minority allows it … a refusal to respect basic rules.”
“You would do anything to undermine the institutions of this state, which you’ve never been very loyal to in your long history,” Martin said to the Sinn Féin leader.
Presuming that Murphy doesn’t table her resignation beforehand, Sinn Féin plans to table a formal no-confidence vote Tuesday. Other opposition parties, including the Labour Party, Social Democrats and the socialist Solidarity-People Before Profit, have pledged to join Sinn Féin in seeking Murphy’s ouster. They don’t have enough votes to prevail, but it would create an unprecedented division in Ireland’s parliament.