 There had been speculation that the party might be able to form a one-party minority government supported by a number of independents or by Fianna Fáil.However, it became clear almost as soon as the result was beyond doubt that Fine Gael's senior leadership preferred to go into coalition with the Labour Party.Following a meeting of the leaders of the two parties, negotiating teams were appointed on 1 March to discuss the possibility of agreeing a joint programme for government.