SENIOR Labour Party figures expect the party leader and Tanaiste, Mr Spring, to rule out tonight a coalition with Fianna Fail after the general election, if the present Government is not re elected.
In his address to his party conference in Limerick, according to senior party sources, Mr Spring "will leave no room for argument. He will be unequivocal. The overwhelming majority of delegates here want him to rule out the Fianna Fail option and they will not be disappointed."
The strategy, if it is adopted, will be designed to maximise transfers among the Government parties and therefore safeguard as many Labour seats as possible.
It risks creating major political difficulties for Mr Spring, however, should Labour find itself in a post election situation in which a Fianna Fail/Labour government appears to be the only stable option.
Labour sources agree that in such circumstances Labour would come under media and public pressure to form a government with Fianna Fail "in the national interest" to avoid a second election.
"But he wants to be allowed say to the electorate that they can vote to put him into government or vote to put him into opposition."
In an interview yesterday Mr Spring said that he was "very adamant that we wish to continue with the present arrangement."
On Radio Ireland's Daybreak programme he said that the people would decide on the composition of the next government.
In his speech tonight, he said, he would "set out for the leadership of the Labour Party the course which I believe is in the best interests of the party and ... in the best interests of the country."
Most Labour deputies support ruling out the Fianna Fail option. They argue that this will maximise transfers between the Government parties, on which many Labour deputies may depend for re election.
A small number, however, believe that the Fianna Fail option should not be ruled out completely. A commitment to force a second election rather than do a deal with Fianna Fail would be seen as irresponsible, they say.