TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen said yesterday he was “determined” to lead Fianna Fáil into the general election on March 11th as a “united party”.
He said in Armagh yesterday afternoon that in the preceding 24 hours no senior Government Minister had asked him to reconsider his position as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader because of the fallout over his failed attempt to appoint new ministers.
“There has been controversy about yesterday. Yesterday is past,” he said after a plenary meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council at its new offices in Armagh. He said he was “determined” to lead Fianna Fáil into the election. “I think people are now moving on to the election itself,” he added.
“Fianna Fáil will fight the election as a united party.”
Mr Cowen said he did not accept, as put to him by reporters, that there was political “chaos”. He defended the Government’s policies and predicted that the latest quarterly figures, when published, would show that the Republic officially was out of recession.
The Taoiseach said that over the past 2½ years the Government was making decisions that were necessary for Ireland’s future. “I will stand and continue to advocate that we continue along this path of adjustment and make sure we bring back investment and employment by doing the job that is necessary”.
“That capacity was clearly not demonstrable in the Opposition benches throughout that period when there was constant, incessant opposition – the politics of the usual, which is no good in the time that we are in and the times that we face.”
Mr Cowen was asked had any senior Government Minister gone to him in the previous 24 hours asking him to consider his position. “No, there hasn’t, of course not. I have the support of my party as confirmed by democratic decision last Tuesday to lead this party in this election and beyond, and that’s what I intend to do,” he said.
He was also asked was it not time for him to stand down given that the Greens blocked him from appointing ministers.
“The authority of my leadership remains. What was involved [on Thursday] was a refusal by the Green Party to support my entitlement and right, as I saw it . . . to decide the Coalition Government, to put my team into the field for the fighting of the next election. I will now do that obviously by the establishment of my own new front bench.”
Speaking in Cork, however, former minister for foreign affairs Micheál Martin said Mr Cowen’s Cabinet reshuffle was a mistake. He added, however, it was for others to reflect on what had happened and what steps should be taken to address the situation facing the party and the country.
Asked if it was too late for Mr Cowen to step down and for Fianna Fáil to change its leader, Mr Martin replied: “I’ve always been of the view that it’s never too late to do anything that would benefit a party or a country – that would be a general position . . .
“I’ve made my stand – people calmly should reflect on the situation and do the appropriate thing then,” said Mr Martin who, when asked if he was including Mr Cowen in those who should reflect on what happened, replied “everyone in the parliamentary party”.