Several Fianna Fail backbenchers yesterday privately expressed the fear that the O'Flaherty affair will cost the party seats in the next general election.
One TD said: "The arrogance of Charlie McCreevy will cost us. There is no doubt about that." Another said that internal party polls show that if an election was held tomorrow Fianna Fail would lose up to 12 seats. One TD said there should be a full Cabinet reshuffle to restore confidence in the Government. "This was not just Charlie McCreevy's fault. The decision to nominate Hugh O'Flaherty to this job was a collective Cabinet decision. Confidence in the Cabinet has been undermined and the Taoiseach must move to restore this confidence."
The Cork North Central TD, Mr Billy Kelleher, expressed relief that Mr O'Flaherty had withdrawn his name and said his feeling from the beginning was that the decision to put Mr O'Flaherty forward for the post of vice-president of the European Investment Bank had been flawed.
The Wicklow TD, Mr Dick Roche, said he welcomed the fact that the controversy had "reached some sort of a conclusion".
"I really don't know if it will cost FF in the next election," he said. "Myself and Charlie McCreevy would not agree on everything but I do think he's a good Minister," he added.
The Wexford Fianna Fail TD, Mr John Browne, said he was relieved the O'Flaherty controversy was over. Asked if Mr McCreevy had been damaged by the issue he said: "He is a big tough man and he will withstand all the criticism that is being thrown at him." He believed there was no need for Mr McCreevy to stand down. "He is one of the better ministers for the backbenchers. He listens to us," he added.
The Cork South Central Fianna Fail TD, Mr Batt O'Keeffe, said if the decision to withdraw the nomination had come from the Government, then Mr McCreevy would have had to consider his position. "If the Government backed down, I would have been very upset. While I did not agree with the decision in the first place, once it was made we had to stick to it."
Mr Bobby Molloy, the Progressive Democratic Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, said he believed Mr O'Flaherty had made the right decision to withdraw his name. He would not comment further.
Mr Desmond O'Malley, the Limerick East Progressive Democrat TD, said he was glad Mr O'Flaherty had withdrawn his name. "That was probably the best thing to do in the circumstances," he said.