THERE IS no foundation for claims that Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan is “mounting a coup” or “talking to backbenchers” about the leadership of Fianna Fáil, his spokeswoman has said.
As speculation continued about the position of Brian Cowen as party leader and Taoiseach, Mr Lenihan issued a statement in which he said: “The issue of the leadership doesn’t arise: there is no vacancy.”
A spokeswoman for the Minister said later he was focused exclusively on economic issues and had not been engaging in any moves to have Mr Cowen removed as party leader.
Dismissing as “speculation” any suggestion the Minister was positioning himself to take over, the spokeswoman pointed out that Mr Lenihan had proposed Mr Cowen as leader in the first place.
Asked if the Minister would have an interest in going for the leadership if it fell vacant, she replied: “The matter doesn’t arise.”
Mr Cowen's position as party leader and as Taoiseach has been the subject of discussion since his interview on RTÉ's Morning Irelandprogramme last Tuesday. He has since apologised for his performance in the interview, which followed a late night at Fianna Fáil's annual think-in, at a hotel in Galway.
The Minister was meeting constituents about local matters at the weekend, as well as giving interviews on the economy to business journalists from British-based newspapers.
The spokeswoman said he would not have had any contact with backbenchers: “His focus is on the economic situation and he certainly isn’t plotting to overthrow Brian Cowen or anything like it.”
Asked about continuing speculation over the Minister’s health, the spokeswoman said: “As he made clear in a recent radio interview, his health does not preclude him from holding any role, but no conclusions should be drawn from that.”
In a television interview last Friday, Mr Lenihan said he expected Mr Cowen to lead the party into the next general election.
A source close to the Minister said it was “not his style” to encourage moves against the Taoiseach: “He’s not agitating to create a vacancy.”
The source added: “The goings-on in Fianna Fáil are the farthest things from his mind.”
Meanwhile, the Minister’s brother, Minister of State Conor Lenihan, refused to comment when asked about a claim by a party colleague that he had been contacting Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members regarding Mr Cowen’s leadership.
Asked if he was loyal to Mr Cowen, the Minister of State said: “As a member of the Government, naturally I support the Taoiseach.”
Earlier on Newstalk, the Minister of State said: "We are very damaged by this particular controversy."
He added: “We know there is a serious challenge to our party and to the authority and respect with which people hold the office of Taoiseach, so that is a serious issue and I expect both the Taoiseach and his colleagues to address that matter.”
Fianna Fáil sources said no further developments were expected until the next round of opinion polls in coming weeks. One backbencher said that, if the figures were particularly bad, there would be immediate and serious implications for Mr Cowen’s leadership.
However, the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Innovation Batt OKeeffe said he expected Mr Cowen to lead Fianna Fáil into the next general election. He told RTÉ he did not believe Mr Lenihan was seeking the Taoiseach’s job. He said he believed Mr Cowen retained the confidence of his Fianna Fáil Cabinet colleagues.
Mr O’Keeffe added that despite “rumours” no TD had come forward in the last week.
Meanwhile, on RTÉ's This Weekprogramme yesterday, Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment John Gormley described the controversy over Mr Cowen as "a very regrettable distraction," but that the Government was stable.
Asked if a change of leader in Fianna Fáil would require a renegotiation of the Coalition agreement, Mr Gormley said: “That is entirely a hypothetical situation.”