This is a short, unpublished story about attempts from within Fianna Fail to force Brian Cowan to step down before the last election. It is written in broadsheet style for a foreign readership as part of an in-class exercise.
THE Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowan is coming under increasing pressure from within his own party to resign prior to the expected March general election.
Some Ministers and TDs (deputies) within the majority Fianna Fail party have in recent weeks expressed concern that it would be unwise for Brian Cowan to remain in office if the party has any genuine aspirations of retaining power.
Many party insiders are of the opinion that a change of leadership is the only way of convincing the disillusioned Irish electorate that Fianna Fail is still a viable choice to lead the country.
So far, however, the Prime Minister has resisted any attempts for him to resign of his own volition and has instead challenged any dissenters to raise the issue an official motion of no confidence that can then be voted on accordingly.
The latest indications are that Mr Cowan has agreed for such a confidence vote to take place, but that it will be conducted in secret.
At a press conference in Dublin yesterday afternoon, Mr Cowan confirmed that he intended to lead his party into the next election, as he is confident that he still has the support of the majority of his peers.
However, at a separate press conference later in the evening, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin confirmed that he would be voting against Mr Cowan in the vote of confidence in tomorrow’s parliamentary party meeting.
Mr Martin also immediately offered his resignation, which it is understood was rejected by the Prime Minister.
Following another development last Friday night, it has been suggested that the Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin advised Mr Cowan to resign for the good of the party.
No comments:
Post a Comment