TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen is taking soundings from his TDs today before he makes a final decision on whether or not to lead Fianna Fáil into the forthcoming election.
Some Cabinet colleagues expected Mr Cowen to stand down as party leader at yesterday’s Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting but instead he told the meeting he would assess the position in the coming days.
Afterwards Mr Cowen's supporters maintained that he intended to stay on after the consultation process and lead Fianna Fáil into the election. However, some senior TDs told The Irish Timeslast night they expected the Taoiseach to stand down rather than expose the party to a bitter leadership contest on the eve of the election.
Mr Cowen refused to be drawn on the prospect that he might resign. "I am having a discussion with colleagues about these matters and until that is completed I can't say to you beyond that what the situation will be," he told RTÉ's Six One News.
“As leader of the party I will sit down with them in an atmosphere of mutual respect and solidarity and decide what I believe to be the collective view of the party. And that’s my job because if concerns are raised, I will address them. I will do that swiftly over the next 24 hours.”
The Taoiseach said he was the democratically elected leader and would listen to the wishes of the party and assess them for himself.
“It is within the entitlement of anyone in the party to use the procedures that are there if they wish to have any matter raised other than by myself,” he added.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, who is regarded as one of the favourites to succeed Mr Cowen, last night welcomed the consultation process.
“It is important that members use this opportunity to have their say on the future of the party,” he said.
Earlier yesterday the other main contender, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, said he was not party to any of the current speculation about the Taoiseach’s future.
When asked if he would be interested in the Fianna Fáil leadership whenever Mr Cowen stood down he replied, “I have always made it clear that a member of any political party is always interested in the leadership of the party”.
TDs close to Mr Cowen are convinced Mr Martin made phone calls and soundings at the weekend, before details of Seán FitzPatrick’s contacts with Mr Cowen emerged.
Mr Martin met the Taoiseach on Monday night and painted a stark picture of the prospects facing the party but neither he nor Mr Lenihan are believed to have explicitly told Mr Cowen he had to step aside.
Green Party TDs and Senators met last night to consider the Fianna Fáil parliamentary meeting and noted Mr Cowen’s decision to consult his parliamentary party members. “The Green Party has already stated that Mr Cowen should himself have revealed his contacts with Anglo Irish Bank principals. We also have concerns about additional revelations in this matter made in the Dáil on Wednesday,” said a party statement.
There is now a great deal of uncertainty about what will happen over the next few days. Independent TD Michael Lowry, whose support is vital to keep the Coalition in office, repeated he would not vote for an alternative Fianna Fáil nominee for taoiseach.
Significantly, Mr Lowry added that due to the prevailing political uncertainty “it is imperative that this Dáil be dissolved and an immediate general election take place”.
An immediate election is now in prospect if Mr Cowen steps down as party leader. It is likely he would remain as acting Taoiseach until after the election when the new Dáil would select his replacement.
An attempt by the Government to continue in office after Mr Cowen stepped down as party leader would be strongly resisted by the Opposition.
Sinn Féin has tabled a motion of no confidence in the Government and Fine Gael and the Labour Party would be likely to do the same if the Coalition tried to remain in office after a Fianna Fáil change of leader.
“We will examine all options with regard to removing the current failed regime. If and when we move a motion, we will do so in the knowledge that it can succeed,” said a Fine Gael spokesman.