DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny lost a vote in parliament to be re-elected premier as expected on Thursday (March 10), and was set to assume the role in a caretaker capacity while his Fine Gael party attempts to form a new government.
Kenny's outgoing coalition was rejected by voters in Feb 26 elections that produced no clear outcome, making Ireland the latest euro zone state to face a prolonged political stalemate that senior ministers say could take weeks to break.
Kenny's centre-right party is 29 seats short of the 79 needed to form a majority in parliament, leaving its historic rival, Fianna Fail, as the only obvious partner to form an alliance that many in both parties are resisting.