BRIAN COWEN will today be formally elected as the seventh leader of Fianna Fáil - in advance of becoming the 12th head of Government since independence in 1922.
He will be described as the leader-designate until Bertie Ahern formally stands down as party leader and Taoiseach on May 6th.
A special meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party will be held at 9am today to elect the new leader. The sole nominee for the position is Mr Cowen, the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance.
After the meeting he will pose with his party colleagues for photographers and later in the morning he will host a press conference.
Mr Cowen said last night that everybody was now in uncharted waters because of the fact that it would be a number of weeks before he was nominated by the Dáil to succeed Bertie Ahern.
He warned people not to pay any attention to speculation about the composition of his Cabinet. "Sources can prove to be less than accurate and sources making reference to the future composition of my Cabinet are entirely speculative," said Mr Cowen.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin yesterday, he said that he was not sharing his thoughts on the formation of the Government with anyone.
The former taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, recalled yesterday in an interview on Newstalk with Eamonn Keane how Mr Cowen was beside him as he got up to leave his seat in the taoiseach's office for the last time, on his final day in office in 1994.
"I just turned to him, and said, I hope I live long enough to see you taking over that seat." Mr Reynolds recalled that Mr Cowen's reply was: "I won't let you down."
Fine Gael has criticised Mr Cowen's record as Minister for Finance, saying that part of his legacy was the current housing crash in which 10,000 people faced the prospect of negative equity.
"He dithered over stamp duty reforms while the property market went into a tailspin, with savage consequences for family savings, confidence, construction sector employment and financial sector stability," said Fine Gael deputy leader and finance spokesman, Richard Bruton.
He added that the economic growth this year would be the slowest since the 1980s with the biggest balance of payments deficit in the history of the State and the highest rate of unemployment in a decade and the biggest deterioration in the public finances in the history of the State.
"Rather than bland comments about not talking ourselves into recession Minister Cowen should put forward a coherent plan of action from the Government to make changes in the public sector that will strengthen economic performance," said Mr Bruton.
Meanwhile last night the Mayo TD, Beverley Flynn, was formally readmitted to the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party after an absence of four years and will now be able to participate in the unanimous election of Mr Cowen today.
Ms Flynn was expelled from the parliamentary party following her failed libel action against RTÉ. The case involved claims that she assisted clients of National Irish Bank, for which she had worked, to evade tax.
The outgoing Taoiseach said last year that he envisaged Ms Flynn could be given a junior ministry in the future.
Mr Cowen is the first leader of Fianna Fáil to be elected to the post without facing any challenger since Seán Lemass succeeded Éamon de Valera in 1959. Bertie Ahern faced a challenge from Máire Geoghegan Quinn in 1994 although she ultimately withdrew from the contest.
When he is elected by the Dáil next month Mr Cowen will be the 11th person to hold the title of taoiseach since the Constitution was enacted in 1938. Before that the head of government was termed President of the Executive Council, a position held by WT Cosgrave and Éamon de Valera before he was termed taoiseach.