Irish PM quits Fianna Fail, says focus should be on election

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen is stepping down as head of his Fianna Fail party, but will remain in his post until elections on March 11. His announcement Saturday came as a surprise, after he survived a confidence vote in his party on Tuesday.

Reuters/Cathal McNaughton

Cowen said his decision will allow Fianna Fail to focus on the election, and will allow him to focus on passing budget laws that will secure an EU-IMF bailout.

"My decision will allow the Fianna Fail parliamentary party to elect a new leader to contest the general election and ensure the party fights that campaign in a united and determined manner, free from internal distractions," he told reporters in Dublin.

"At this crucial time when decisions and choices have to be made by the people about the future of our country, the focus should be on what policies the political parties are offering rather than on the narrow focus of personality politics.”

Cowen survived a confidence vote from his party on Tuesday, but he was forced to announce an election date Thursday after a cabinet reshuffle was threatened with a veto from his Green party coalition partners.

Fianna Fail and the Greens are facing a motion of no confidence lodged by the Labour party when parliament next sits on Tuesday.

Cowen said he would now focus on passing the finance act, which includes a series of measures that will secure 67 billion euros of loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to bail out the country’s faltering economy.