Howlin, since March 2011. For the first three years of the Fine Gael/Labour government, the EMC was regarded as the lynchpin of the coalition's stability. Gilmore resigned from office on 4 July 2014, he was succeeded as party leader and as Tánaiste by Joan Burton. 2011 general election Gilmore led Labour to the best electoral performance in the party's 99-year history at the 2011 general election. The party won 37 seats. It did especially well in Dublin, taking 18 seats to become the largest party in the capital. Gilmore topped the poll in the Dún Laoghaire constituency. Tánaiste and government minister (2011–14) Following the election, Labour entered coalition with Fine Gael. Gilmore became Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. He named five ministers to cabinet, six Ministers of State, and Máire Whelan as Attorney General. He also recreated the office of the Tánaiste within the Department of the Taoiseach to enhance his control over Government policy. This office was originally created under Tánaiste Dick Spring in 1992, but was abolished by his successor Mary Harney. Troika bailout exit On 15 December 2013, Ireland became the first eurozone country to exit a €67.5 billion EU/IMF bailout programme following a multi-year programme. The so-called 'troika' bailout was triggered in November 2010 following the collapse of the Irish property market collapsed which in turn had pushed the country's banks into financial crisis. A blanket guarantee on all of the liabilities of the Irish banks — established by the previous Fianna Fáil/Green Party coalition in September 2008 — dragged the State to near bankruptcy and forced the government to turn to the EU/IMF as lenders of last resort. In November 2014, the Government announced that it would exit the EU/IMF bailout programme without seeking a precautionary credit line, often referred to as a 'clean bailout exit'. In an interview with RTÉ's Morning Ireland radio programme on 15 November, Gilmore explained that the Government had conducted a long process of consultation with international institutions and other EU member states before making the decision to exit the bailout cleanly. He also pointed to the existence of a €20 billion "backstop" of reserve funding held by the National Treasury Management Agency that could fund the Irish State up until the beginning of 2015 if so required. Northern Ireland On 11 November 2012, Gilmore became the first Irish Government Minister to take part in the annual