Junior Irish coalition party wound up

Nov 9, 2008, 7:09 GMT

Dublin - One of the junior parties in the Irish coalition government, the Progressive Democrats (PDs), voted to wind up the party late Saturday after more then two decades shaping Ireland's economic boom.

The party, which has just two seats in the lower house or Dail, said it was 'no longer politically viable' at a meeting in Mullingar in central Ireland, national broadcaster RTE reported.

Formed in 1985 by a group of disaffected politicians from the country's two largest parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, the PDs adopted a free-market liberal manifesto that was most successful in the 1987 general election, gaining third place for the party.

The PDs have had a junior role in three Fianna Fail-led governments since 1989 and are credited with pushing through low taxation and business-friendly policies that resulted in the success of the so-called Celtic Tiger economy.

In the 2007 election, the parliamentary party shrank from eight to just two, including Health Minister Mary Harney, who will remain in office as an independent.

Harney said at Saturday's conference that the party's 'disastrous performance' in the 2007 election had left it with no parliamentary base and there was no point in continuing, RTE reported.

Prime Minister Brian Cowen said the PDs could be proud of their contribution to Irish politics, RTE reported. The health minister would continue to have his support and confidence.

Cowen's Fianna Fail party rules in partnership with the Greens, independents and PDs. The decision to wind up the party was not expected to threaten the government, which has only a thin majority in the Dail.