Howlin tipped to take Labour reins

BRENDAN HOWLIN emerged as front-runner in the battle for leadership of the Labour Party last night after Ruairí Quinn announced his intention to step down from the helm.

Eamon Gilmore, 47, and Joan Burton, 53, have also emerged as strong potential candidates, according to party sources, although no-one has officially announced their intention to run yet.

The five-week battle for leadership got underway yesterday as several deputies took soundings from their party colleagues and a final list of leadership hopefuls will be completed next month.

All of Labour’s 3,500 members are eligible to vote in the leadership election, making it the first time a major party leader will be selected by grassroots members.

It is expected voters’ allegiance to candidates from Labour and the old Democratic Left party will play a significant role in determining who is elected. After six years of leadership, 56-year-old Mr Quinn said he believed it was time to pass on the baton.

“It has been a very intense period that has taken a lot of energy, and a lot of time ,” he said.

“But I also recognise you cannot maintain that intensity of involvement and engagement endlessly. There are other ways of making a contribution, it doesn’t have to be as captain of the team.

It was expected Mr Quinn would face a challenge to his leadership when his term was due to expire in October, after a disappointing performance in the general election.

He said that he would stay on as party leader in the meantime and vowed to launch a vigorous campaign in support of the Nice Treaty.

Mr Quinn said he was proud to have returned the second largest number of deputies in the party’s history in the last election and had no regrets over the party’s decision not to rule out coalition with Fianna Fáil.

Deputy leader Brendan Howlin, 46, is tipped as favourite by party insiders to lead Labour after losing to Mr Quinn in the last leadership race. The Wexford TD could face a stiff battle from former Democratic Left deputy Eamon Gilmore.

While the 1998 merger between Democratic Left and Labour went relatively smoothly, tensions surfaced in the run-up to the general election. Constituencies such as Dublin South-Central and Cork North-Central were riven by internal rows over candidate selection.