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Ireland prepares for 3-week campaign to decide next prime minister

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Ireland prepares for 3-week campaign to decide next prime minister
News

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Ireland prepares for 3-week campaign to decide next prime minister

2024-11-09 01:47 Last Updated At:01:50

LONDON (AP) — Ireland's President Michael Higgins dissolved Parliament Friday, clearing the way for a Nov. 29 election that will determine who controls government.

Prime Minister Simon Harris, who had until March to call an election, had announced the date Wednesday.

A historic coalition government led by Harris' center-right Fine Gael party and its center-left rival Fianna Fail has been in power since the 2020 race ended in a virtual dead heat.

“We did not agree on every issue but we did always work hard and together for the good of the Irish people,” Harris said. “The time is now right to ask the Irish people to give a new mandate.”

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, which arose from opposing sides of Ireland’s 1920s civil war, shared a broadly centrist outlook and had alternated holding power to govern Ireland over the decades. The two set aside their differences in 2020 to work together, bringing the Green Party along as a junior partner.

Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin served as premier for the first half of the term and was replaced by Fine Gael’s Leo Varadkar in December 2022.

Harris took over when Varadkar stepped down earlier this year.

The left-wing nationalist Sinn Fein party had won the largest share of votes in the election but was shut out of government because it couldn't assemble enough support to govern. Sinn Fein has been shunned by centrist parties because of its historic links to the nationalist militants of the Irish Republican Army and decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

Sinn Fein said it was fielding more candidates in its effort to lead the government.

“After a century of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, it is time to make that change, to give Sinn Fein the chance to lead and the chance to deliver,” said party President Mary-Lou McDonald. “In Sinn Fein you will get a government that will move heaven and earth to make housing affordable, to bring home ownership back into the reach of working people and to restore hope for a generation.”

Ireland, which has a population of 5.2 million, has faced many of the same challenges of other countries since its last election: the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruptions due to the war in Ukraine and a surge of migrants from overseas.

Martin said the next five years would be challenging for the Irish economy, noting the impact from global conflicts and a potential change in U.S. trade policy change.

“The greatest threat to the Irish economy is external, and we need experience and we need leadership that has already demonstrated its capacity to weather significant events and shocks to lead us through the next challenging five years,” Martin said.

Harris said the coalition had protected people during coronavirus, supported Ukraine in its war and weathered the cost-of-living crisis.

Housing, immigration and childcare are some of the main issues for voters, he said.

He said he was pleased the government had set aside money to weather any future trade shocks.

“We used to be ridiculed for this,” Harris said. "This is exactly why we have the buffer that is there, is a trans-Atlantic shock or indeed any other shock to our economy, my children will never have to experience the austerity that our generation did.”

Ireland in 2010 faced national bankruptcy over the cost of saving its failing banks. It adopted an austerity program as one of the conditions for an international bailout but rebounded strongly after exiting the bailout in 2013.

FILE - Prime Minister of Ireland Michael Martin arrives at John Hume's funeral Mass at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Aug. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)

FILE - Prime Minister of Ireland Michael Martin arrives at John Hume's funeral Mass at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Aug. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris makes a statement outside Government Buildings ahead of the Dail being formally dissolved for the General Election scheduled for next Nov. 29, in Dublin Friday Nov. 8, 2024. (Gareth Chaney/PA Wire/PA via AP)

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris makes a statement outside Government Buildings ahead of the Dail being formally dissolved for the General Election scheduled for next Nov. 29, in Dublin Friday Nov. 8, 2024. (Gareth Chaney/PA Wire/PA via AP)

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris makes a statement outside Government Buildings ahead of the Dail being formally dissolved for the General Election scheduled for next Nov. 29, in Dublin Friday Nov. 8, 2024. (Gareth Chaney/PA Wire/PA via AP)

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris makes a statement outside Government Buildings ahead of the Dail being formally dissolved for the General Election scheduled for next Nov. 29, in Dublin Friday Nov. 8, 2024. (Gareth Chaney/PA Wire/PA via AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning on his bobblehead night, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers over the winless Atlanta Braves 6-5 on Wednesday.

The Dodgers improved to 8-0, the best start ever by a defending World Series champion.

Max Muncy tied the game with a two-run double in the eighth off reliever Raisel Iglesias (0-1) after the third baseman’s two errors led to five unearned runs by the Braves early.

Fans waited hours in line outside the stadium and traffic was snarled for the first of four Ohtani bobblehead giveaways this season. He’s holding his 2024 NL MVP award.

Trailing 5-0, the Dodgers clawed back on a two-run homer from Tommy Edman and a solo shot by Michael Conforto.

Jack Dreyer (1-0) got the win in relief.

Six of the Dodgers' eight wins have been via comebacks.

Braves RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (0-0, 0.00 ERA) starts the team's home opener Friday against Miami.

Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0, 2.70) starts Friday at Philadelphia to open a six-game trip.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

A fan receives a bobblehead doll of Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

A fan receives a bobblehead doll of Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

A bobblehead doll of Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is seen before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

A bobblehead doll of Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is seen before a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Atlanta Braves' Bryce Elder throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Atlanta Braves' Bryce Elder throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Blake Snell throws against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Blake Snell throws against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Atlanta Braves' Stuart Fairchild, right is safe at first base after colliding with Los Angeles Dodgers' Enrique Hernández on a bunt single during the second inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Atlanta Braves' Stuart Fairchild, right is safe at first base after colliding with Los Angeles Dodgers' Enrique Hernández on a bunt single during the second inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Blake Snell, center, gets a visit from pitching coach Josh Bard, left, and infielders during the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Blake Snell, center, gets a visit from pitching coach Josh Bard, left, and infielders during the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Atlanta Braves' Ozzie Albies hits a double against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Atlanta Braves' Ozzie Albies hits a double against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

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