A Fine Gael backbencher says there will be no push against party leader Enda Kenny.
He says Fine Gael has performed under Deputy Kenny winning and increasing their seat numbers in last years local elections.
But the party has not made any gains on the back of the swing against the Government.
According to a new poll in the Irish Times today more people say they would vote Labour ahead of any other political party.
Deputy Michael Ring has acknowledged something has gone wrong but believes Deputy Kenny is the right man to lead the party.
“He has my full support as leader of the party” he said.
“He has brought this party from very difficult times, I mean we’re going through a bad time at the moment but at the same time this is only one poll at one particular time”.
“I don’t think there’d be any point (if we) panic”.
“I remember an election where we lost over 20 seats and people were saying that Fine Gael were finished, we’d never come back”.
“We’re in the ballgame, we have to start looking at what’s gone wrong and we have to recorrect that” he added.
Poll is “Armageddon” for Fianna Fail
This IPSOS/MRBI poll for the Irish Times was carried out earlier this week before banking reports pointed the finger of blame at some of Brian Cowen’s budgets.
Parliamentary Correspondent with the Irish Times Michael O’Regan says another 5% drop in popularity adds up to more pressure for nervous Fianna Fail deputies.
“For Fianna Fail it’s Armageddon” he said.
“I was talking last night to a pale-faced Fianna Fail backbencher who asked me what he should do – or what the party should do”.
“I suggested in a sense of black humour – I hope they don’t me literally – that they go back into that building what was the La Scala Theatre on O’Connell Street and disband” he added.
But speaking in Dublin this morning, Minister Eamon Ryan says he believes now is not the time for an election.
“It didn’t serve us well in the past when we just had a series of election after election when government’s weren’t willing to work through hard times” he said
“So I hope we can continue to do the work we are doing in government that I think is helping the country out of a difficult situation”.
“I don’t see any easy, obvious alternative in terms of an alternative economic strategy that would actually get the country out of the difficulties” he added.
