Irish PM in party leadership crisis

Ireland's foreign minister has announced he will vote against Prime Minister Brian Cowen in Tuesday's vote of confidence. Michael Martin says he has told Cowen that the centrist Fianna Fail party needs a new leader before a general election expected to take place in March. But the government's chief whip, John Curran, said he did not know of anyone who would back the foreign minister. 

Reuters/Cathal McNaughton

Cowen's Fianna Fail party saw a sharp drop in popularity after a deep financial crisis forced Dublin to accept billions of euros from a bailout fund. The crisis in Fianna Fail, the main party in the governing coalition, came to a head in recent day after revelations in a new book about Cowen's alleged links to a disgraced bank boss.

Cowen is said to have had contact with Sean FitzPatrick, the bankrupt former boss of Anglo Irish Bank. Anglo, Ireland's third largest bank, was nationalised two years ago after heavy exposure to the property market and has come to symbolise the reckless lending that characterised the country's financial success.

On Sunday, Cowen announced that he would stay on as leader of the party, but offered colleagues a secret vote of confidence. Just hours later, Martin, seen as one of Cowen's main challengers for the party leadership, said he would vote against him.

The election is expected to be called after the finance bill, which implements the bailout, passed by lawmakers. This could be completed by the end of February.