NEXT YEAR'S local elections will be "the litmus test" that will decide if the Progressive Democrats have a future, the party's newly elected leader Senator Ciarán Cannon has said. Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent, reports.
Speaking after he had narrowly defeated fellow Senator Fiona O'Malley to replace acting leader Mary Harney, Mr Cannon said: "The local elections are where it is at. That will be the litmus test for us. That will be the watershed in deciding whether there is a future for this party. It will be time certainly for all of us - our members, our councillors, the parliamentary party - to take a collective decision on the basis of the electoral decision of 2009."
Accepting the scale of the challenge ahead, the Galway East-based politician said he was "very confident" that both party members and the public would decide "there is a place for this party".
The result of the election, which was decided by three electoral colleges made up of members of the parliamentary party in one; councillors in another and rank-and-file members in the third, was declared shortly after 5am.
Mr Cannon beat Ms O'Malley by the narrowest of margins: 51 per cent to 49 per cent, though the size of Ms O'Malley's vote did take some by surprise. However, just over 40 per cent of the ordinary membership of the party voted.
Rejecting charges that the low poll illustrated poor party morale, the party's chairman, Peter Wyer, said he was "delighted" by the turnout. No other party had 1,000 of its members voting for a leader, he said.
The new leader's first major problem will be to ensure none of its remaining councillors defect to other parties in the run-up to local elections next year.
Repeatedly emphasising that councillors will have a new, more powerful role in the party, he said: "This party over the last few years, and no one can deny it, has been driven very much from the Cabinet outwards.
"What I am saying to councillors is that they will be at the driving seat. They will be the engine of our resurgence. Their experience, their input will be valued in a very meaningful way and they will have direct access straight through to me.
"I am confident that when they hear what we have to say, when they meet with us, that they will feel very much that there is a future for the party and that their role will be significantly enhanced. I think that that will be a very, very attractive option for them."
In a pointed remark, however, Mary Harney, when asked what advice she would give to her successor, replied: "I think when you are leader of a party you have to do a lot of thinking on your own; the party membership does not always take you in the right direction.
"Leaders have to be prepared to stand back sometimes and reflect and make their own decisions and bring people with them rather than follow people in the organisation. I think that is the story of great leadership: that you have brought people with you rather than followed people somewhere."
Galway West TD Noel Grealish, who has been repeatedly linked with a move to Fianna Fáil, will stay with the Progressive Democrats until the local elections, Mr Cannon said.
"He is utterly and totally committed to this party. He will await the outcome of the local elections in 2009 to decide what the future holds. He has given me that commitment. I trust the man. I have no reason to believe that anything other than that position remains in place.
"Rather than being on the periphery of the party, and one foot in, one foot out, he will be very much at the centre of the party in ensuring that we get the success that we need," Mr Cannon told a press conference.