One of the questions at the start of the year is whether the incipient alliance of left-wing parties can continue to grow and deepen its co-operation over the course of 2026. The potential left alliance finished the year on a high; the centre/centre-right Government ended it on the back foot. There is, remember, deep residual suspicion of Sinn Féin in Labour. That being so, a break is inevitable – and better to have it sooner rather than later and before the left-wing alliance has been dragged too far to the left, the argument goes. That would deprive the left alliance of some of its most effective media performers, though.

Source: The Irish Times January 10, 2026 15:02 UTC