DUBLIN: Opposition leader Enda Kenny said Saturday he would begin talks next week on amending Ireland's unpopular bailout, as his Fine Gael party was swept to power in elections dominated by economic woes.
Hours after Prime Minister Brian Cowen conceded defeat in Friday's parliamentary elections, Kenny promised to move fast on a key campaign pledge to try to renegotiate the 85billion euro ($115-billion) EU IMF bailout.
"We're going to move on this next week, I've already had contacts with Europe this very day," he said in his first TV interview since the vote.
Cowen's Fianna Fail party slumped to its worst ever defeat in the elections and looked set to lose two thirds of its parliamentary seats as voters vented their outrage of the collapse of the once roaring "Celtic Tiger" economy.
"Clearly today there wasn't support for our party in great numbers. We accept as democrats the outcome," Cowen said, after his government became the first to fall as a result of the debt crisis in the 17 country eurozone.
Fine Gael secured 36.1 percent of the vote, according to an RTE/Millward Brown Lansdowne exit poll, and it is likely to form a coalition with the Labour party, which was on course for its best ever result with 20.5 percent.
Kenny, 59, a former teacher, vowed during the campaign to ease the terms of European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout to relieve the burden on Irish people to try to restore some of his nation's shattered pride.
In the TV interview, he said it was a "bad deal for Ireland and for Europe", adding: "I see room for manoeuvre in terms of interest rates and in terms of the cost of the banking structure. We'll move on this very quickly."
But in Brussels late Saturday the European Commission insisted that the incoming Irish government stick to the promises made to reduce the country's budget deficit and did not mention any renegotiation of the bailout plan.
Its economics spokesman Amadeu Altafaj told AFP: "The Commission will continue to support Ireland and its next government in carrying out the programme which is essential for the Irish economy."
Addressing flag waving supporters in a Dublin hotel late Saturday, Kenny said Ireland faced a "difficult future" but said: "I hope that during the period of this next government we can restore that sense of pride to our people."
In the crowd, 60-year-old Helena Johnston waved a yellow Fine Gael flag as she joined hundreds cheering for change. "I'm very proud. He's a person I feel I can trust," she said.
Due to the complicated counting required for Ireland's single transferable vote system, by midnight Saturday only 86 of the 166 seats in the Dail, the lower house of parliament, had been allocated.
Fine Gael had 38, Labour had 22, and Fianna Fail had eight, while Sinn Fein boosted its numbers to seven.
The republican party is strong in Northern Ireland but is trying to expand its support south of the border, and its president Gerry Adams won his first seat in the Dail Saturday.
Fine Gael officials predicted the party would win upwards of 72 seats, not quite enough for a majority in the Dail.
Kenny refused to be drawn on a possible coalition, but one of his lawmakers, Leo Varadkar, told RTE: "It's unlikely that we'll reach a majority or be able to govern with independents, so the probability is a coalition with Labour party."
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore also said a coalition was the "most likely outcome" of the election, as he hailed a "breakthrough" result for his party.
Fianna Fail, meanwhile, watched in horror as it lost scores of seats and was reduced to just one in Dublin a historic defeat for Ireland's traditional party of government.
Micheal Martin, who has been Fianna Fail's leader since Cowen quit the post last month following months of criticism over his handling over the economy, congratulated Kenny on his "outstanding success".
"We were aware that we had a huge challenge in this election for a variety of reasons. There's no question but it's been a very disappointing day for us. But I'm looking ahead we can rebuild," he said.The party could slump to as few as 20 seats, analysts said, as the exit polls suggested it was looking at just 15 percent of the vote.
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