Labour Party members will elect a new leader in October, following Pat Rabbitte's decision to stand down yesterday. Mr Rabbitte said he wanted to take full responsibility for his party's failure to win more seats in the election or secure a change of government.
Dún Laoghaire TD Eamon Gilmore, who ran for the leadership in 2002, is expected to run again, while Wexford TD Brendan Howlin, who was the runner-up on that occasion, is reflecting on his position as are other leading members of the party.
While his six-year tenure as party leader was due to run until October next year, Mr Rabbitte said he decided to step down in order to give a new leader more time to prepare for the local and European elections in two years' time.
He maintained that by winning 20 seats in the Dáil and six seats in the Seanad, Labour had delivered a "creditable performance", but given expectations that the party would break out of its traditional niche, he conceded that the outcome fell short.
"After reflecting on this in recent weeks in the hills in west Kerry, I had to make a decision about whether I wanted to contest a second term . . . It seemed to me that putting off a decision until half the way through a new Dáil probably wasn't the way to go. A beginning of the Dáil's lifetime is probably the best time to make way," he told a press conference.
"In the recent general election, Labour - under my leadership - had twin objectives: to win more seats in Dáil Éireann and, in alliance with Fine Gael, to form an alternative government. In the event, Labour won the same number of seats in 2002 and failed to replace the existing government. As leader, I take responsibility for that outcome," Mr Rabbitte said.
He defended his electoral strategy saying he was "absolutely convinced" that the party was right to form an alliance with Fine Gael which was unsuccessful, he said, by just a narrow margin.
"I gave it my best, I've no regrets. I enjoyed every, well, almost every single day of it." He accepted that a minority in the party favoured going into coalition with Fianna Fáil but he stood by his opposition to this course.
"I'm absolutely persuaded that at this particular juncture in our history that if the Labour Party was to be seen as responsible for putting Fianna Fáil into office, I think we would pay a serious price coming out of that government," he said.
Mr Rabbitte said it would be a mistake to restrict the next leadership debate to whether Labour should form a pre-election alliance.
"The debate needs to be of a character which regenerates the party, that accepts the dramatic changes we've seen in Ireland over the last 15 years or so, and to demonstrate to as large a share of the electorate as possible the relevance of the Labour Party programme to modern Ireland," he said.
Tributes were paid to Mr Rabbitte by political friends and foes. The Taoiseach described Mr Rabbitte as an able and talented political opponent, saying his capacity and wit had enlivened politics and enlightened public debate over many years.
The Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said Irish politics and society were the less for Mr Rabbitte's decision to resign as Labour leader. He said Mr Rabbitte had put the national interest over self-interest to make sure the electorate had a real choice at the last election.
The two men thought most likely to succeed Mr Rabbitte reserved their positions last night. Mr Gilmore said: "I was surprised by Pat's announcement. He called me this morning and told me."
He joked: "I need to go home and talk to the wife first about it. I want to take a couple of days to consult party colleagues and friends."
Mr Howlin told RTÉ he was less concerned with the "personality" who led the party and more preoccupied with "how the party is to be energised to make a real impact in a very different Ireland".