Confidence, Chaos And Collapse - The Dramatic Fall Of Cowen's Government

Vincent Murphy gives a blow-by-blow account of one of the most dramatic weeks ever in Irish politics, which saw the government collapse, Brian Cowen resign of leader of his party, and an early election date being named.

It was one of the most spectacular own goals in Irish political history.

On Tuesday, Taoiseach Brian Cowen was celebrating after decisively winning a leadership vote in his party.

By Saturday, he was resigning as leader of Fianna Fail after a botched reshuffle attempt.

And by Sunday, the Greens had pulled out of government.

Brian Cowen, buoyed by his victory over Micheal Martin in the Fianna Fail leadership vote, tried to appoint six fresh faces to his cabinet on Thursday.

The idea - to replace six Ministers who had indicated they would not be seeking re-election, and allow his party to present a fresh front-bench to the country during an election campaign.

But it was to prove a stroke too far.

The reshuffle was vetoed by the Greens, who said it sent out all the wrong signals to an angry public, and would be seen as "the final insult".

Many within Fianna Fail had also cautioned the Taoiseach that it was unwise.

Reports suggest some TDs refused the offer of a Ministry, and others even turned their phones off in case Mr Cowen was trying to contact them with an offer.

But in a catastrophic political miscalculation, Brian Cowen decided to proceed with his plan.

The retiring Ministers went public to say they were resigning immediately, infuriating the Greens who were kept in the dark about the developments.

By the time Dail business began on Thursday morning, there was utter confusion over who exactly was in charge of running the country.

As loud and angry demands from Opposition TDs for a statement from Brian Cowen forced a suspension of the Dail, terse discussions were taking place behind-the-scenes between the Taoiseach and senior Green Party figures.

By lunchtime, the game of brinksmanship was over, and Mr Cowen was on the losing side.

In a statement to the Dail, he conceded that had failed to appoint six members of his party to cabinet.

He revealed that his attempts to do so had been blocked by the Green Party, and in that circumstance he was reassigning the portfolios to existing Ministers who would double-job for the next two months.

And in a final concession to the Green Party, he set the date for the general election for March 11th - at least a fortnight earlier than had been expected.

Within hours he was facing renewed calls from within his own party to step down as leader.

And the Green Party confirmed the only reason they were not pulling the plug on the government immediately is that they believed passing the Finance Bill was in the national interest.

As one analyst put it, like a married couple staying together for the sake of the children, the government would stick it out to see the Finance Bill through.

On Friday, Brian Cowen once again insisted he intended leading the party into the election.

He had the support of his party to lead them "into the next election and beyond", he said.

But Micheal Martin asked the TDs who backed Mr Cowen to think again over the weekend.

And on Saturday afternoon, Brian Cowen announced that he would stand down as leader of Fianna Fail, but remain on as Taoiseach.

Fianna Fail said it would elect a new leader on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the Green Party said it had run out of patience with Fianna Fail.

Its Ministers resigned and they withdrew from government, promising to support the Finance Bill from opposition benches.

It now looks like the election will take place in February, and the Dail could be dissolved by the end of this week.

The Leadership Vote

Despite the challenge from then Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin, Mr Cowen successfully won a motion of confidence in his leadership of the Fianna Fail party following a remarkably civil contest.

No other senior figure publicly opposed Mr Cowen in advance of Tuesday's vote.

Minister Mary Hanafin revealed later that she had voted against Mr Cowen, but had not wanted to influence other members of her party.

Meanwhile, Brian Lenihan, who had been many people's favourite to succeed Mr Cowen, went on radio to publicly back him on the day of the vote, denying that he had ever canvassed in opposition to the Taoiseach.

The remark surprised many backbench Fianna Fail TDs who went public to say that was not the impression they had been getting from their discussions with Mr Lenihan.

In the end, a secret ballot after which the voting papers were shredded, saw Mr Cowen prevail.

The winning margin was never revealed officially, but most observers believe it was probably as comprehensive as two to one.

Mr Cowen pledged to lead a strong campaign for the party in the upcoming election, and party members vowed to put the bickering behind them and unite behind their man.

Michael Martin tendered his resignation as Foreign Minister, and it was accepted by Mr Cowen, but both men vowed to campaign together without any acrimony.

Resign/Refresh

Mr Cowen says that during his consultations with Fianna Fail TDs it was made clear to him that the party needed a fresh impetus in the run up to the election.

And Mr Cowen assured them that he had a plan.

Before Christmas, long-serving Ministers Dermot Ahern and Noel Dempsey had indicated they would not be contesting the next election.

Since the holidays, Defence Minister Tony Killeen signaled he too would be retiring.

Minister for Health Mary Harney had privately told the Taoiseach what she would publicly announce on Wednesday night, that she too was stepping down from public life.

It would emerge on Thursday that Enterprise Minister Batt O'Keeffe was also joining the exodus.

When Brian Cowen announced on Tuesday night that he would take over the portfolio of Foreign Affairs for the remainder of the government's life, he gave no indication of the drama that was to follow over the next 24 hours.

The Taoiseach was in fine form during Leaders Questions in the Dail on Wednesday, landing some hard hits on both FG leader Enda Kenny and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore.

So impressed was he, in fact, that he instructed his staff to get the video of his performance and email it to all Fianna Fail supporters with a message that he was ready for the fight ahead.

The renewed leader was flexing his muscles.

But his exuberance was tinged with hubris.

Because as rumours circulated on Wednesday about Mary Harney's intentions, there also grew speculation that Mr Cowen might use the opportunity for a wider, more radical reshuffle.

Minister Mary Hanafin advised it would look like a stunt.

The Green Party also said they didn't believe it was a good idea.

On the six o'clock TV news Green leader John Gormley was asked for his thoughts on a reshuffle.

He said that Micheal Martin's job could be filled, and a case might be able to be made for replacing Dermot Ahern, who was retiring due to ill-health, but that he was not in favour of a wider reshuffle.

After the bulletin, Dermot Ahern rang Mr Gormley to reprimand him for calling him too ill to perform his duties.

Mr Gormley also met Mary Harney in the corridors of Leinster House.

Neither Minister gave any indication to their coalition partner that they were about to resign that evening.

But by the time the nine o'clock news went to air, Mary Harney had offered her immediate resignation.

She said that she didn't believe it was right for her to stay on as Minister any longer, given that she would not be standing for re-election and would therefore not be accountable to the public.

Immediately, the focus shifted to the other Ministers who had already announced their intentions to resign - surely that logic applied to them too.

By 11pm Dermot Ahern, Noel Dempsey and Tony Killeen had all tendered their immediate resignation from cabinet.

By midnight, Mr Cowen was ringing around for potential replacements.

Some, like Barry Andrews who was called after midnight, declined the offer, opting to stay on in his junior ministry to complete work.

Others, as already mentioned, switched off their cellphones for fear of being offered a job.

They figured they would stand a better chance of re-election as an ordinary TD, than arriving home to their constituents in a State car with a Garda driver.

But it's widely thought that Mr Cowen did have six new Ministers lined up and ready to take up their positions as he arrived to Government Buildings on Thursday morning.

Dail In Disarray

John Gormley knew about Mary Harney's resignation when he went to bed on Wednesday night, but was furious when he heard the 7am radio news on Thursday morning.

He had not been informed by the Taoiseach that three of his cabinet colleagues were stepping down straight away, and believed he had made it clear that his party would not support this.

He phoned Brian Cowen and the two men, along with senior members of their parties, would hold several meetings throughout the morning.

During the morning, news of Batt O'Keeffe's retirement emerged too, and as Mary Coughlan took Dail questions at 10.30am, it appeared the country was now without any minister for health, justice, transport, enterprise or defence.

Opposition parties demanded a statement from the Taoiseach, and kicked up enough of a fuss to have proceedings adjourned until lunchtime.

Meanwhile, Cowen was finding out that his gamble had backfired, and that he had no option but to back track on his plans.

He came to the Dail at 1.30pm, and announced that the resignations of the senior Ministers had been accepted, and their duties were being assigned to existing FF ministers.

Mary Coughlan, in addition to her role as Tanaiste, and Minister for Education, would now be in charge of the major portfolio of health.

Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith, would also take over as Justice Minister.

In addition to his Social Protection ministry, Eamon O'Cuiv took over as Defence Minister.

Pat Carey replaced Noel Dempsey in Transport, and continues as Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister.

And Tourism, Arts and Sports Minister Mary Hanafin was now responsible for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen acknowledged that he had intended to promote six new ministers - effectively admitting he had lost the most basic power of any Taoiseach, that to appoint his cabinet.

He accused the Greens of breaking a long standing convention in coalitions, and said he believed he had been entitled to make the appointments.

Election Date Named

Mr Cowen's speech also contained the date for the election - March 11th.

It would allow enough time to pass the Finance Bill giving effect to Budget measures into law.

Immediately, the opposition parties switched into election mode.

Enda Kenny, FG leader, appeared on the plinth surrounded by his party members to welcome the announcement of the date.

Not long after Eamon Gilmore, leader of Labour, did the same, saying there were "50 days to bring about a change in the country".

Sinn Fein said they thought the date could have been even sooner.

But even as the opposition were trying to appear above the nasty infighting of the government, and changing their rhetoric to talk of jobs and hope and change, the government parties were not quite finished tearing themselves apart.

In full view of the media, senior figures within Fianna Fail including Micheal Martin and Brian Lenihan were seen discussing developments with their colleagues.

Just outside the Dail chambers, the kind of heated debate and animated discussion that usually takes place behind closed doors, was occurring without care for who was watching.

Conor Lenihan, FF minister of state, and brother of Finance Minister was the first to publicly declare the issue of Mr Cowen's leadership back on the agenda and call on him to resign.

Other backbenchers, who were furious with how Mr Cowen handled the whole affair, said it was too late to change leaders now that the date had been set for the election, and they preferred to go back to their constituencies and fight for their own seats on their own merits.

Meanwhile, the Green Party called a news conference to give their side of the story - outlining in great detail how they had been kept in the dark about unfolding events, and how they had warned against the course of action.

Trust between the two coalition partners has now been irreparably damaged.

Thinking Again On Cowen's Leadership

On Friday, during a visit to Northern Ireland, Brian Cowen appeared resolute - insisting he would stay on as leader of Fianna Fail.

But pressure was growing on him.

Michael Martin told FF members to think again about the leadership issue over the weekend.

And within 24 hours, Mr Cowen's mind had changed.

Mr Cowen says after consulting with his family and friends, and taking time to consider the politics of the situation, he had come to the conclusion that it was time to step down as Fianna Fail leader.

However, he said he would continue in his governmental role as Taoiseach until after the election.

The situation has a precedent - but nonetheless has the potential to cause major confusion.

Some, like Dublin FF TD Charlie O'Connor, said it may be as well to call the election straight away, rather than continue on with the new arrangement.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said what now existed was "a party without a leader, and a leader without power".

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore also called for the election date to be brought forward.

FG said they would be tabling a motion of no confidence in Brian Cowen as Taoiseach, alongside a Labour motion of no confidence in the government.

Greens Run Out Of Patience

On Saturday night, Fine Gael said that if the Finance Bill was really the only issue keeping the government in place, it would facilitate its speedy passage into law by Friday afternoon, as long as Brian Cowen agreed to dissolve the Dail by then.

It was an offer that gave the Greens a way out.

The party's national executive met on Sunday morning, and that afternoon they announced they were withdrawing from government, their two Ministers had resigned, and they would support the Finance Bill from the Opposition benches.

"Our patience has reached an end," said John Gormley, revealing his party had made contacts with Fine Gael and were optimistic that the Finance Bill could make its way through the Dail as quickly as possible.

Leading Fianna Fail figures, including the Taoiseach and Finance Minister said they did not believe it could be done as quickly as the other parties believed.

All parties were due to hold discussions on Monday in a bid to agree a timetable for the speedy passage of the Finance Bill, and for an election to be called for some date in February.

Meanwhile, as the government was collapsing, the leadership contest in Fianna Fail was getting underway.

The party said the process would be speedy too.

With an election looming, candidates had until lunchtime on Monday to declare their interest.

A vote will take place on Wednesday at a meeting of the parliamentary party. By Saturday night, four leading figures had thrown their hats into the ring: Michael Martin, Brian Lenihan, Mary Hanafin, and Dev's grandson Eamon O'Cuiv.

At the time of going to print, the Irish government was hanging by a constitutional thread - with just seven ministers holding a range of reassigned portfolios, the legal minimum under the Irish Constitution.

The Taoiseach of the country was no longer leader of his party, and the party ruling the country was in the middle of a leadership contest.

And a February election looks a certainty.