Cowen calls for party loyalty while admitting some failures

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has appealed to his grumbling backbenchers for loyalty while conceding he got things wrong as leader of Fianna Fáil.

Faced with angry protests from farmers and the prospect of his Government falling apart as it tries to push through its most difficult budget, he said with the support of his parliamentary party he was “up for the challenge”.

In the keynote speech at the party’s annual think-in, Mr Cowen said he had to perform better but asked his colleagues to give him time to justify his election as leader. He told the gathering, on the banks of Lough Ree, they had just come through the worst of the crisis.