Brendan Howlin and Alan Kelly to discuss top post

Labour leadership contenders Alan Kelly and Brendan Howlin will today discuss a way of deciding who takes over from Joan Burton in a bid to avoid the initiation of a drawn-out contest.

The former ministers talked by phone yesterday and there is a growing feeling among party figures that moves are under way to ensure Mr Howlin takes over the leadership without a damaging public spat.

The former Public Expenditure Minister had said he would decide after the weekend on whether he would put himself forward for the leadership.

Mr Kelly claims that he will be a contender for the role. Hoever, there are suggestions he can’t get a seconder among the five TDs entitled to support him, needed for his name to go forward.

The Labour party will have its parliamentary party meeting today, but said yesterday that the issue of the leadership would not be raised during the gathering of the 12 TDs and senators.

Instead, a series of phonecalls and private meetings have been ongoing as efforts are made to come to an agreement about who should take over the bruised party which is now in Opposition.

Parliamentary sources yesterday reiterated that there is no desire for a leadership race, which must be initiated if more than one person puts themselves forward and which could take up to 45 days and must allow party members to vote.

“To spend 40 odd days internally gazing is not going to help Labour. We’d like to see this resolved this week,” said one source.

Mr Howlin and Mr Kelly spoke by telephone yesterday and it is expected that they will again today. A decision on what happens next and possibly who puts themselves forward solely for the leadership may even be announced as early as today. However, nominations for the leadership remain open until Friday.

Party sources say former junior foreign affairs minister Seán Sherlock is now not in the running anymore for the role and that neither is former education minister Jan O’Sullivan.

“If Brendan doesn’t run, Alan will get it,” offered one source.

Party figures though also suggest that people are “acting in concert” to get Mr Howlin, who twice contested the leadership in previous years, to be made leader.

Outgoing leader Joan Burton has said she will take no part in declaring who should succeed her, as has party chairman Willie Penrose.