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18/04/2008
Joint Talks Fuel FF-SDLP Merger Speculation
Speculation is growing over a possible merge between Fianna Fail and the SDLP.
The Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and SDLP leader Mark Durkan will jointly host a business breakfast on Friday, further fuelling the flames of suspicion over merger plans.
The event, organised jointly by Mr Ahern's Fianna Fáil and the SDLP, will focus on the all-Ireland economy and will take place on the border between Ireland and the North.
Fianna Fáil recently registered its name north of the border with the electoral authorities, while its youth wing has up branches at Queen's University in Belfast and the University of Ulster's Magee campus in Derry.
A joining of the two parties would have serious implications for the Island as more political parties adopt an all Ireland presence along with Sinn Fein.
It is believed a large number of SDLP members would support a merge with Fianna Fáil, however some members have closer sympathies with the Irish Labour Party, which has its own committee of Northern Ireland Members.
Although Fianna Fáil are presently conducting a review into whether it should move into Northern Ireland politics, the SDLP has insisted that Friday's business lunch has no relation to any merge plans.
The SDLP, once the largest nationalist party in the North, has continually lost seats in the assembly and struggled in council elections since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
(DW/JM)
The Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and SDLP leader Mark Durkan will jointly host a business breakfast on Friday, further fuelling the flames of suspicion over merger plans.
The event, organised jointly by Mr Ahern's Fianna Fáil and the SDLP, will focus on the all-Ireland economy and will take place on the border between Ireland and the North.
Fianna Fáil recently registered its name north of the border with the electoral authorities, while its youth wing has up branches at Queen's University in Belfast and the University of Ulster's Magee campus in Derry.
A joining of the two parties would have serious implications for the Island as more political parties adopt an all Ireland presence along with Sinn Fein.
It is believed a large number of SDLP members would support a merge with Fianna Fáil, however some members have closer sympathies with the Irish Labour Party, which has its own committee of Northern Ireland Members.
Although Fianna Fáil are presently conducting a review into whether it should move into Northern Ireland politics, the SDLP has insisted that Friday's business lunch has no relation to any merge plans.
The SDLP, once the largest nationalist party in the North, has continually lost seats in the assembly and struggled in council elections since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
(DW/JM)
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Ireland WeatherToday:Gale, coastal severe gale, northwest winds ease from late afternoon. Scattered showers will fall as snow over the hills at first, becoming isolated from mid-afternoon. Maximum temperature 7 °C.Tonight:Showers, scattered in the evening, will clear by midnight leaving the night dry with clear spells. Cloud will spread east towards morning. Minimum temperature 2 °C.
