No matter what moves come against Enda Kenny in the coming weeks – if they do materialise – they are doomed unless any one of the leadership contenders throw their weight behind the idea of unseating the Taoiseach.

There is no sign of that happening yet but, equally, there is no sign of the group of rebel TDs letting up in their criticism and harrying of Enda Kenny.

That is not to say the leadership contenders are in blissful ignorance of the attitude of some of their deputies.

Leo Varadkar is understood to have been approached about supporting a motion of no confidence earlier this year but said he would be no part of it.

While enthusiasm varies in the parliamentary party on when again to discuss the party leadership – with the majority still loyal to Kenny – there is an acceptance it will become an issue again once the budget has passed.

The period between late October and December arguably represents the greatest danger for Kenny since it should be a period of relative political calm if the budget is passed.

The party watches Kenny in anticipation of some indication that he is ready to depart, a practical impossibility since any leader who pre-announces their departure is already gone.

But language matters and it is the tone used by Kenny over the past few days that raised the ire of some of his TDs.

The latest round of leadership talk in Fine Gael arose because of Kenny's determination to project himself as a leader in command of his party, full of energy and with serious intent for his Government in the period ahead.

Out of touch

Kenny’s declaration that he had “got his mojo” back caused some mirth but it did not go down well among some quarters of the parliamentary party, with many feeling it was cringeworthy and emblematic of a leader who perhaps is slightly out of touch.

Kenny’s other statements at the think-in – on a potential reshuffle and indicating that he may stay on for another two years – fed the belief of many in the parliamentary party that the Taoiseach has no intention of stepping aside in the near future.

“This idea that he was going to leave in a couple of months, I never believed that and this showed it,” said one minister.

While the public rumbling was largely confined to those who had spoken out in the past, some middle ground deputies – who will be key to deciding if and when Kenny should leave – repeated their own views that the Taoiseach should step aside around Christmas or the New Year.

Those loyal to Kenny insist the grumbling was confined to the usual suspects, the group of deputies who were passed over for preferment and who are now among the only Fine Gael TDs without ministerial office.

But a motion is now being talked about in some quarters, with Cabinet and Junior Ministers alive to its possibility even if they will not support it.

One senior Minister said that the ranks of the rebels had not substantially grown.

Right time

“It is really ‘as you were’ at the moment, there has been no change,” said the Minister.

In one sense, that is correct, since no serious contender is going to join with any rebels who table a motion after the budget.

They will await the right time to move, if they decide it is beneficial to be the one who takes on Kenny.

Yet the mere fact that “as you were” is a consistent criticism of Kenny’s leadership is likely to be unsustainable in the long term.