MARTIN CHALLENGE:FORMER MINISTER for foreign affairs Micheál Martin has said his failed leadership challenge against Taoiseach Brian Cowen may have given Fianna Fáil a kick-start for a vibrant general election campaign.
“I cannot say for certain; I detect a lot of energy . . . the party membership seems to be energised by this,” he said.
Mr Martin said Mr Cowen had picked up on the concerns of TDs and also the negative analysis about the party’s electoral prospects during his process of consultation with them last week.
“He is anxious to give a vibrant campaign,” he said.
Mr Martin, in Leinster House yesterday on his first day as a Government backbench TD in 17 years, said he was not unduly concerned about that, and “never had any fears or worries about that aspect of it”. He had earlier in the day told Cork radio station 96 FM of his leadership ambitions should a vacancy arise.
Mr Martin said he had not expected any other Minister who may have voted against the confidence motion to resign.
“I made it clear last night that as far as I was concerned I took a leading role and was resigning. There was no need for anybody else to resign . . . One of the reasons he [Mr Cowen] was keen I would not debate on the Saturday is that he wanted the debate to take place free of any rancour or pressure on people,” he said.
When asked did he still hold the view that the existence of the party was at stake, the former minister replied that it was possible for the party to recover.
“It will be challenging, but it will be done. . . . it is a combination of getting the electoral machinery in place and getting the campaign right. We need to bring forward some innovative proposals . . . we are going to have to defend the economic platform we implemented in terms of the public finances,” he added.
Many of his party colleagues believe, notwithstanding the failure of the challenge, that Mr Martin has benefited compared to potential rivals Brian Lenihan and Mary Hanafin.
“I have observed that from the media. I really did not see it in those terms . . . I tend to take a less strong view on that,” he said.
Asked was he disappointed that Ms Hanafin had not given him stronger support in public, he said: “Mary Hanafin has to do what Mary Hanafin has to do. As I said last night it’s up to every Minister and every deputy to bring their motion to bear. I did not solicit support from Mary [Hanafin].”
Polls placing Fianna Fáil at 14 per cent alongside Sinn Féin were reflections of a worrying reality, he said. “Decimation is a real possibility. That is why I took the move I did, to do something about it,” he added.