Fianna Fáil backbencher Noel O’Flynn has said the party needs to take a very critical look at the leadership of Brian Cowen arising out of the poor showing of the party and the Taoiseach’s low satisfaction rating in the lastest poll.
The Cork North Central TD said the Fianna Fáil party must now look at how the leadership of Brian Cowen is impacting on the electorate.
“His rating is down to 18 per cent. Surely now we as a parliamentary party have to look at the future of the leader".
"It must be examined in the context of the latest polls and as you know before Easter we had a very long discussion with him and a debate in the parliamentary party where he indicated that he was going to do better, that he was going to have a higher profile which he has done. It would appear to me that the support for the Government is at 12 per cent and the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party will have to decide if he is the best person to continue to lead”, he said.
However, responding to the polls and to Deputy O’Flynn’s remarks Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe insisted Brian Cowen should continue at the helm of the Government.
Dismissing suggestions that Brian Cowen’s days as leader were numbered Minister O’Keeffe said the country was recovering from an “economic tsunami” and that people were undoubtedly angry at the fall in their standard of living.
“He (Brian Cowen) has my absolute and total support. Noel is entitled to his opinion and I obviously don’t agree with him. Because I think anybody has to take cognisance of the very tough decisions and in fairness to the backbenchers they have been very solid by and large in taking those decisions", minister O'Keeffe said.
"The other question Noel O’Flynn and others will have to ask is there comes a time in life when you have to put the nation before party politics. We have put the Irish nation and the future of children and the future of the Irish economy before our party and our party has suffered", he said.
"Now we have a chance to turn the corner. Now we have a chance to ensure our finances. Surely nobody would want this country to go on borrowing €400 million a week and a third of that going to pay salaries. That is not sustainable. We have to continue to take the tough decisions”, the minister added.