Kenny may put up rival candidate
Nominations for a new leader will open this evening for seven days if Mr Kenny loses the confidence of his parliamentary party.
His challenger, Richard Bruton, will not automatically become leader, but a process to select a replacement could take weeks.
It was claimed yesterday that ambitious TDs supporting Mr Bruton in his leadership heave were just using the former finance minister as a “stalking horse” to get Mr Kenny out of the position.
“This was stoked up by people who have leadership ambitions themselves. What they needed was a respected stalking horse and they got Richard Bruton,” MEP for Ireland West, Jim Higgins, told RTÉ Radio.
Another Kenny supporter said: “People think this is a contest between Enda Kenny and Richard Bruton, it’s not. This could be a contest of four. The Kenny camp will put forward a candidate against Bruton for sure and then there will be someone or two from the youth wing” referring to younger former front bench spokespeople, including Simon Coveney, Brian Hayes and Leo Varadkar.
Today’s meeting kicks off at around 11.30.
The vote on the confidence motion will take place by secret ballot and a result is expected by early afternoon.
Should Mr Kenny lose, the process of getting a new party leader will begin. A candidate must be a TD and must have the support of 10% of the parliamentary party – or seven other TDs and senators. The vote for a new leader must take place within 20 days.
