By Kate Holton and Padraic Halpin
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's main opposition party Fine Gael looked set on Sunday to garner the final seats it will need to lead coalition talks after a historic election victory that crushed its long-time rival Fianna Fail.
The centre-right Fine Gael, swept into power on a wave of voter anger over the country's economic meltdown, is under pressure to form a government quickly as it seeks to persuade Europe to relax the terms of a bailout package it fears will bankrupt the former "Celtic Tiger" economy.
On course for a record 75 plus seats, the pro-business, low tax party will fall short of an overall majority in the 166-seat lower chamber.
It will likely open talks with the centre-left Labour party to form a coalition with a large majority, several sources have told Reuters, but publicly, the party was keeping its options open, waiting for the last seats to be filled and give it the dominant hand in negotiations.
Depending on its final tally, Fine Gael could seek the support of independent lawmakers but senior figures in the party have emphasised the need for stable government signalling an aversion to making deals with a disparate group of individuals.
"We don't have any time to lose," Fine Gael's leader and prime minister in-waiting Enda Kenny said shortly after claiming victory.
"The country can't borrow money, the banks can't borrow money, we are up to our necks here."
The former primary school teacher heads to Helsinki on Friday for a special summit of EU leaders, and party sources have told Reuters he will want a firm indication of the make-up of the new government before then.
Despite clashing in the election campaign, Fine Gael and Labour have a history of working well together and a strong majority should bring some stability back to Irish politics after the chaos of Fianna Fail's last days in office.
Senior Fine Gael members including Michael Noonan, a possible candidate for the next finance minister, lined up over the weekend to say they could work with Labour.
"I am hoping I will be in cabinet," he said. "I am looking forward to a stable government and that implies that we wouldn't be relying on a handful of high-maintenance independents whom you would have to satisfy every time there was a crucial vote."
The presence of Labour may also harden the government's determination to renegotiate the terms of the European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout and ease some of the burden on a weary electorate struggling to make ends meet.
With nearly 80 percent of the seats counted, Fine Gael held 59 of the 166 parliament seats, Labour held 31 and close to its all-time record of 33 seats while Fianna Fail was set for a record rout with just 14 seats.
The Green Party, which governed in coalition with Fianna Fail in the last parliament, lost all its seats.
Sinn Fein, best known as the political wing of the now-dormant Irish Republican Army, was close to trebling its 2007 election result with 13 seats and some 14 seats went to independent candidates.
But the numbers alone did not tell the full story of the massive political upheaval that swept across the country.
A host of high-profile independents, ranging from a shaggy-haired builder to a tailored former stockbroker and a pro-cannabis campaigner, swept out parties and candidates who had ruled for generations.
For Fianna Fail, it faces the biggest collapse in support for any Irish party since independence from Britain in 1921, and its defeat would mark the first euro zone government to be brought down by the debt crisis.
On current numbers, Fianna Fail could hope to achieve around 20 seats, down from the 77 it entered the election with.
(Editing by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Jon Hemming)
