BRIAN COWEN:The Tánaiste and Minister for
Finance is the front-runner and at this stage it
looks like his nomination could be the one presented to the
party's 78 TDs. Last June, Mr Ahern named Mr Cowen as his likely
successor.
Yesterday, Mr Cowen was asked if he would stand but replied that it was "not a day for this", adding that he had no intention of commenting on the implications of Mr Ahern's announcement.
MARY HANAFIN: Like Bertie Ahern, Mary Hanafin was government chief whip and that role helped her establish contacts at all levels of the party. She was promoted to the education portfolio in October 2004 and is considered to have performed well.
In the past year, however, she has faced more criticism, particularly in relation to reducing class sizes. Ms Hanafin yesterday refused to say if she would be a candidate.
NOEL DEMPSEY:The Minister for Transport is a close ally of Brian Cowen and is seen as a possible choice as tánaiste, if Mr Cowen becomes taoiseach. However, Mr Dempsey has never ruled himself out as a possible leadership candidate.
However, some colleagues say that the Meath TD has shown a lack of political nous in the past when championing contentious schemes such as electronic voting.
MICHEÁL MARTIN:The Minister for Enterprise and Employment has also been spoken of as a future leader but notwithstanding his successful introduction of the smoking ban, his terms as minister for health were regarded by some observers as not helping his prospects.
In the past 12 months, he is said by colleagues to have aligned himself closely to Mr Cowen. Yesterday, he refused to discuss the leadership issue.
DERMOT AHERN:The Minister for Foreign Affairs echoed his colleagues yesterday by saying the leadership issue was for another day. The Louth TD is considered one of the Taoiseach's strongest allies and advised Ahern not to make any statement in advance of the Mahon tribunal.
He has been an effective and high-profile minister, who has not made a secret of his ambition. However, he has never actually stated that he wants to become leader.
BRIAN LENIHAN:The Minister for Justice is the only potential leadership candidate to rule himself out of the race. Yesterday, he said he had only been a senior minister for a year and would prefer to concentrate on his portfolio in justice.
Nonetheless, having performed strongly and calmly in a difficult department, colleagues talk about him as an authoritative figure who is a potential future leader of the party.