Leading Fine Gael members are expected to strongly oppose plans to change the rules on the election of the party leader when the issue is put to a national postal vote over the next six weeks.
During an early morning session at the ardfheis, approximately 200 delegates roundly supported a demand by Young Fine Gael for a greater role for ordinary members in the selection of leader.
The parliamentary party would hold 50 per cent of the votes, an electoral college formed by the party's constituency executives would hold 30 per cent. Their votes would be weighted in favour of constituencies with the most seats.
Delegate Mr Leo Varadkar, on behalf of Young Fine Gael, proposed that the leader be elected every two years: "Tony Blair, Charles Kennedy, Iain Duncan Smith, Ruairí Quinn are elected in this way."
Rejecting a call by the party's Executive Council to put the issue aside for a year until it can prepare a report, Mr Varadkar said: "Don't fall for this nonsense. The next time you will have a chance will be 2006."
The motion also lays down that a leadership vote would have to be organised if a parliamentary party member puts down a motion of no confidence against the leader.
The Young Fine Gael motion, though backed by a majority of six-to-one, is vulnerable to criticism because the voting formula proposed fails to explain who would hold the remaining 20 per cent.
Last night, party sources speculated that this quota would be shared out among the party's local authority representatives, who would also vote by some form of electoral college.
Though accepted by the ard- fheis, the motion must now be ratified in a national postal ballot of 7,500 members.
Each TD and senator will be entitled to vote. Each branch will have five postal votes.
The Fine Gael leader, Mr Noonan, has yet to decide on his attitude to the proposal, although reliable sources indicated local branches would be urged not to support it. Leaving the session, a delegate complained: "The two-year term is dreadful. Effectively, a Fine Gael taoiseach would have a motion of no confidence twice during a Dáil term. That will only weaken the party."
Former Fine Gael leader, Mr Alan Dukes, was scathing of "a uselessly complicated system" that would "end up" giving the party the same person as leader.
"I would not have fancied it when I was leader, at least not in the way that is proposed. It is a very cumbersome procedure."
The party's deputy leader, Mr Jim Mitchell, said the lively debate illustrated the organisation's vibrancy, but the proposal was clumsy and failed to provide for cases where a leadership vacancy needed to be filled quickly.
Dublin South East TD Ms Frances Fitzgerald said the proposal should be investigated further: "You will get a knee-jerk reaction from the parliamentary party. It may be a bit impractical, but it should be used as a jumping off point."
