The chairman of the Progressive Democrats has publicly appealed to Mr Michael McDowell to rejoin the party, despite a bruising week of damaging revelations.
After the publication in yesterday's papers of yet more correspondence from Mr McDowell to the party leader, Ms Harney, the party chairman, Mr John Minihan, called on him to return to the fold and "promote his vision" inside the PDs.
Refusing to comment on the weeks of failed negotiations so far, Mr Minihan told The Irish Times that leaks to the press "sometimes get a life of their own which are divorced from reality".
Saying he had "the utmost admiration" for Mr McDowell, he added: "Irish politics needs him. It needs a person willing to push the limits with political vision and Michael has that ability. I hope he will return to politics and hope he will do so with the PDs and promote that vision within the party."
Yesterday two Sunday newspapers published the letter sent by Mr McDowell to Ms Harney in July, with a document, What Now? on the party's future. That document, details of which emerged last week, proposed renaming the PDs The Radical Party, a major policy realignment, and reorganisation.
The letter is understood not to have been seriously discussed between the party and Mr McDowell. The only detailed discussion - some very heated - was on Mr McDowell's desire for sweeping powers as party president.
The party is understood to have given Mr McDowell a counterproposal on his powers as party president, but no agreement was reached.
The letter sent to Ms Harney in July caused further controversy yesterday. In it Mr McDowell said: "We need to demonstrate a capacity to deal with the North in a new way which really tries to progress the project of Irish unity in the new, post-Good Friday, prosperous context that exists." He added: "Young people want Irish unity".
Labour's deputy leader, Mr Brendan Howlin, suggested last night that Mr McDowell's political activity was incompatible with his role as Attorney General, saying the publication of his views on Northern Ireland might do "untold damage" to the peace process.
Sinn Fein accused Mr McDowell of trying "to steal some of Sinn Fein's clothes". Mr McDowell could not be contacted for comment last night.