Cowen digs in after bloodbath
- FF lose swathes of seats
- Greens wiped out countrywide
- Big swing to FG and Labour
A dejected looking Brian Cowen at the Ireland East count centre in Punchestown last night.
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TAOISEACH Brian Cowen's embattled Government will desperately cling to power as Fianna Fail last night suffered a local elections bloodbath.
The disastrous plunge in votes in the local, European and by-elections for Fianna Fail and the Greens sparked renewed speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle in the autumn.
Mr Cowen braced for a further blow as MEP Eoin Ryan was locked in an overnight battle to hold off Socialist Joe Higgins and Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald for the last seat in Dublin.
Fianna Fail tallymen were early today pessimistic about Mr Ryan's chances of taking the seat. The count continued through the night after a delay when Green candidate Deirdre de Burca demanded a re-check.
And in the North West, Libertas candidate Declan Ganley insisted on a re-check of votes. However, he is remained highly unlikely to take a seat.
Mr Cowen's party plummeted to second place in a national election for the first time in its history and came outside the top two places in the by-elections.
But the Taoiseach said the Government would continue with its tough policies.
"The people have spoken and what we have to do now is get on with our work as a Government and continue to communicate the message to the people which is 'we will do whatever is necessary to restore economic stability and bring growth to the economy'."
Ireland East witnessed a predictable outcome as FG's Mairead McGuinness, Labour's Nessa Childers and FF's Liam Aylward took seats, resulting in a loss for Fine Gael.
But the party had a chance of recouping this loss in Ireland South where FG MEP Colm Burke was in a four-way fight for the last seat with Sinn Fein's Toireasa Ferris, independent MEP Kathy Sinnott and Labour's Alan Kelly.
FF's Brian Crowley and FG's Sean Kelly were comfortably elected to the first two seats.
The Green Party was decimated in the elections. It is now without a single councillor in Dublin and has just three local representatives nationwide.
If the junior coalition partners decided to pull out of Government, the party would be under pressure to come back from a general election with a single seat. But the Greens will have a lot of work to do internally to convince its members it needs to stay in Government.
The first cracks appeared to show as a defeated Green Party councillor, Niall O Brolchain, suggested the party could pull out of power with FF and form an unlikely ad-hoc government with Fine Gael and Labour.
Future
Mr O Brolchain said his understanding from talking to Green Party leader John Gormley was the party would hold a national conference to decide on the party's future.
And independent TD Michael Lowry would not guarantee if he would vote with the Government on the motion of no confidence in Mr Cowen's coalition, but he is not likely to stray. Fellow independent Jackie Healy-Rae said he was "rock solid" behind the Government, as he also accused new FG TD George Lee of "tricking" his way into the Dail.
Despite the enormous losses, Mr Cowen's position as leader appears to be stable.
But Fianna Fail backbencher Chris Andrews said Mr Cowen and those around him in the party leadership need to communicate better with the public at large and the grassroots.
But the Government now appears determined to struggle on rather than face an angry electorate in a general election.
In the wake of the elections, the Government will review the Programme for Government over the course of the Summer.
There is now speculation within government circles of some reshuffle at Cabinet level in the autumn, after the Lisbon Treaty referendum.
Mr Cowen insisted his mandate to govern is based on majority support in the Dail, which will be confirmed in a motion of no confidence to be tabled by Fine Gael this week.
Fianna Fail are facing losses of up to 50 seats, on the back of two crushing defeats in the Dublin South and Dublin Central by-elections.
But Mr Cowen is stressing it will be business as usual for the Government and it will continue to take tough decisions.
- Fionnan Sheahan Political Editor
