TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen threw down the gauntlet to his party critics last night, declaring that he had no intention of stepping down and pointing out that mechanisms were available to those who wished to launch a challenge against him.
A crowded meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on the fifth floor of Leinster House heard approximately two dozen speeches, about half of them in favour of Mr Cowen, a half-dozen against him and another half dozen taking what one TD called a “neutral” tone. The overwhelming mood of the meeting, according to members who attended, was that the party should rally to the support of the Taoiseach in the coming weeks as he and his ministerial colleagues produced the four-year plan, sought to have the budget passed and conducted negotiations on the EU-IMF bailout. At the meeting, which ran from 5.30pm to 8.55pm, Mr Cowen stressed the seriousness of the situation the State was facing in economic terms, pointing out that the eyes of the world were not only on him but on the party collectively.
One of the significant contributions came from former minister Mary O’Rourke, who said the party should have a special meeting on the leadership issue in early January where nominations could be invited, but she also stressed the immediate priority was the budget.
Sources at the meeting said there were contributions from prominent critics of Mr Cowen’s leadership such as Carlow-Kilkenny TD and former junior minister John McGuinness who said: “We need a new Fianna Fáil.”
Other critics who spoke included former junior ministers Máire Hoctor and Seán Power along with Dublin South East TD Chris Andrews. Cork East TD Ned O’Keeffe, who has been critical of Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan rather than Mr Cowen, demanded an immediate election.
Galway TD Noel Treacy made a “passionate” speech in defence of the Taoiseach. When the proceedings were well-advanced, Meath TD Thomas Byrne proposed a motion – seconded by Ms O’Rourke – supporting the Government’s efforts on the budget and the four-year plan. This was unanimously agreed.
Chief Whip John Curran said afterwards that, prior to the main business of the meeting, the whip had been restored to Senators Labhrás Ó Murchú, John Hanafin and Jim Walsh, who voted against the Government on the Civil Partnership Bill. Mr Curran said despite the prediction of Cork TD Noel O’Flynn, there was nothing “bare-knuckle” about the meeting and the tone was businesslike.
The issue of how the issue of the bailout negotiations was communicated to the public came up and Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern gave a detailed account of the sequence of events, which was corroborated by Mr Cowen.
A supporter of Mr Cowen who wished to remain anonymous said afterwards: “We heard the same speeches from the same people who have been speaking for the last two years and have chips on their shoulders because they got thrown out of jobs.”
The chief message coming from all sides after the meeting was that the leadership issue had been “parked” until the budget and other economic challenges had been dealt with and that while there was no formal proposal, the issue would be discussed again.
There were several calls for a special meeting on the issue after the budget.
One longtime supporter of Mr Cowen said he made a “very convincing” speech, but added that “I don’t feel the tenor of meeting closed off the leadership issue”.
