The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, yesterday reiterated his belief that his continuation in the Cabinet was a matter solely for the Taoiseach, and he criticised the media for trying to have him demoted in the forthcoming Cabinet reshuffle.
Mr Smith strongly rejected any suggestion that he had embarked on a campaign to retain his portfolio, while he also insisted that he has been dignified throughout as the media had earmarked him for demotion in the reshuffle signalled by Mr Ahern.
"There was no campaign - there's nothing undignified about wanting to continue to work, there's nothing dignified about being routed from office by the media . . . I suppose the media generally have assumed a lot of power in this country, but so far, they just aren't able to pick a cabinet.
"My future plans are not in my own hands - I leave that to the Taoiseach. I'm an eternal optimist - I just always keep the sun shining as long as I can. I've had a good experience in this business - I'm very fit and I want to continue working, but that's entirely a matter for the Taoiseach, I have no say in that matter."
Questioned about Fianna Fáil's relationship with the Progressive Democrats and possible tensions over reports of the Government loosening the purse strings in this year's budget, Mr Smith played down any suggestions of tension and said that continuing prudent management of the economy was necessary for further economic growth.
Mr Smith conceded that the local election results were a wake-up call to Fianna Fáil, though he pointed out that the party had gained substantially in his own Tipperary North constituency where its vote was up 10 per cent, and this week's parliamentary party meeting in Inchydoney in West Cork had seen "a lot of straight talking".
"There certainly were disastrous showings in the local elections.
"Now you should never take a local election as a barometer of your support for a general election, but you couldn't ignore what happened in some constituencies. There's a lot of organisational work that needs to be done in some constituencies," he said.
"There's a long, hard road back to getting up the kind of percentage that would safeguard this Government in the context of the next general election so there's no room for complacency," said Mr Smith.
