Leadership woes

Good piece in the current issue of the Phoenix on how little support Micheál Martin has within his own party. At Minsterial level it’s a nightmare with just three loyal to him:

…Stephen Donnelly, Norma Foley and Charlie McConalogue.

And it only gets worse as one works through Junior Ministers and backbenchers:

Definite Martin supporters are junior ministers James Browne, Mary Butler, Thomas Byrne and Jack Chambers. That makes four juniors and four senior ministers, including Martin, that can be counted as reliable supporters of the leader. Three backbench TDs – Cathal Crowe, Aindrias Moynihan and Christopher O’Sullivan – make up a total of 11 hardcore Martin supporters against 17 opposed.

But no challenge is likely until the new year and/or stability is restored on the pandemic front and/or Brexit front. How would that function in the context of the government if Martin was – as the Phoenix suggests – placed in a position where he had so little support he was forced to resign? Would it bring the government down? And here’s another thought. Assume it didn’t. Would, if the coalition made it to the end of its lifespan, we have had three Taoiseach’s in the space of four years? Surely not.