Irish parties plot path to government
The leaders of the three main Irish political parties have all been re-elected to serve in the Dáil (Irish parliament).
Micheál Martin of Fianna Fáil, Simon Harris of Fine Gael, and the Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald have overcome their first obstacles in the Irish general election.
Now, they all face an even bigger challenge - to try to form the next government.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have served together in the outgoing government, and after the first day of counting votes, they seem well placed to return to government.
Irish general election: 'Two party politics is gone' says Sinn Féin
If they agree to do so, they may need the support of one of the smaller parties or a number of the many independent TDs who are expected to be elected as the counting of votes continues on Sunday.
Sinn Féin says it also wants to be in the next government, and the party is ready to speak to other parties and independents.
But, based on current predictions, the scale of the challenge facing Sinn Féin is enormous.
Political pundits are currently predicting that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael could secure a combined total of more than 80 seats.
If that comes to pass, the two parties will be within touching distance of the golden figures of 87 or 88 TDs, to secure a majority in the Dáil.
Big challenge
The same political pundits believe Sinn Féin could secure around 40 seats.
But even if it achieves that, it will still be well short of what is required for a Dáil majority.
In that case, Sinn Féin would have to look towards the smaller parties and independents.
With the smaller parties expected to be in single figures when all their TDs are finally confirmed, the challenge facing Sinn Féin becomes clearer.
If it turns to independents, it will find a very disparate cohort of TDs.
To find common cause in such a situation will be another big challenge for the party.
To compound matters, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have insisted that they are not interested in sharing power with Sinn Féin because of fundamental policy differences on a range of issues.
'Sensational political masterclass'
This all means that Sinn Féin may have to engineer a sensational political masterclass if it is to enter government in the Republic of Ireland for the first time.
The one thing Sinn Féin and all the parties will have is time.
There is a widespread belief that negotiations to form a new government may go beyond Christmas and into the new year.
On Saturday, party leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O'Neill were jubilant when they joined their Sinn Féin supporters at the RDS in Dublin.
They were clearly extremely satisfied with the number of seats Sinn Féin is expected to win.
As things stand, very few political commentators are expecting the Sinn Féin jubilation to be sustained to the other side of the negotiations for government.
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