Cowen saved from being shortest-serving taoiseach

BRIAN COWEN’S choice of March 11 as an election date will rescue him from going down in the history books as being Fianna Fáil’s overall shortest serving taoiseach.

Mr Cowen, as of today, has so far served 989 days in office, but he needs at least an extra 50 days in power to place him beyond the record, held by former Fianna Fáil Taoiseach Albert Reynolds.

While other Fianna Fáil taoisigh have served shorter individual periods such as Charles Haughey, Jack Lynch and even Éamon de Valera, their cumulative days served over multiple terms in office stretch much further than 1,038 days.

On the day of the general election — which will likely see FF removed from office — Mr Cowen will have served exactly 1,038 days in power.

This is the exact number of days which Albert Reynolds served as Taoiseach between February 11, 1992, and December 15, 1994.

Mr Cowen’s choice of date for the general election means he will have been in office as Taoiseach exactly 1,038 days, between May 7, 2008, and March 11, 2011, on voting day.

The extra days needed to count or recount votes, plus the additional days expected to negotiate a government between winning parties prior to Mr Cowen officially leaving office, would see him safely slip past the short-term reign record.

The Constitution says that a Taoiseach remains as Taoiseach until he or she is replaced.

But even after Mr Cowen’s abrupt decision on an election date which will likely leave him as Taoiseach for another seven weeks at least, frustrated party colleagues yesterday still moved to oust him from power.

Junior Minister Conor Lenihan said events surrounding resignations and leading to the election date decision this week had raised concerns among party members about Mr Cowen’s leadership once again.

If disappointed party TDs were to successfully dislodge Mr Cowen in a second leadership vote ahead of the now set general election date, this would then firmly leave him with the embarrassing title of overall shortest serving Fianna Fáil Taoiseach in the history of the State.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear if any Taoiseach or even government representative will manage to attend Thursday, March 17 St Patrick’s Day ceremonies in the White House in the United States and elsewhere abroad this year.

The general election date will see a scramble for power among parties with the greatest votes but negotiations on this are likely to last a number of days after votes are counted, as they did when the Green Party agreed on a Government with Fianna Fáil in mid-2007.

Following the counting of ballots on March 12 and after and with possible coalition negotiations beginning only then, it remains unclear if any incoming Taoiseach and their choice of ministers would then be in a position to decamp to capitals around the world while a new Government is being formed.