Mr John Bruton's future as leader of Fine Gael is in serious doubt with a number of former supporters now backing the latest attempt to overthrow him.
As two former Cabinet Ministers, Mr Michael Noonan and Mr Jim Mitchell, launched a campaign yesterday to oust Mr Bruton, several formerly loyal front benchers said privately they would support the move.
Mr Bruton insisted last night he had "very solid support". However, only his most loyal supporters predicted that he would win a parliamentary party vote on Wednesday on a motion of no confidence, put down by Mr Noonan and Mr Mitchell. Mr Bruton may move to fire the two challengers from the front bench, which is due to meet tomorrow.
A round of intensive telephone campaigning got under way over the weekend with Mr Bruton, Mr Noonan and Mr Mitchell all making calls to deputies, senators and MEPs seen as "swing voters". Deputies reported a clear majority of par ty activists who contacted them were seeking a change of leader.
Many parliamentary party members contacted yesterday said they believed the challengers could win the necessary 38 votes in the 75-member parliamentary party. Almost all declined to comment on the record. Several former supporters said they hoped Mr Bruton would resign, but he said he had no intention of doing this.
Mr Bruton admitted the party was "in crisis" but criticised the timing of the move against him. He insisted his experience and record as Taoiseach was among the party's biggest assets. While the party had not performed well in opinion polls under his leadership, he said, it had performed very well in elections.
However, the party's spokeswoman on traffic, Ms Olivia Mitchell, previously a strong supporter of Mr Bruton, was among those changing sides at the weekend. She said party members would have to ask themselves, "is our admiration and loyalty to John blinding us to what opinion polls are continuously saying to us?"
Her view was echoed in private by a number of front bench members. One who publicly supported Mr Bruton in November said last night he could not predict the outcome. Significantly, he declined to comment on how he would vote.
At least two other mid-ranking deputies who supported Mr Bruton in November have communicated to him that they would not do so this time. Another front bench member who said he would still support Mr Bruton said he felt the challengers were within sight of victory.
Writing in today's Irish Times, Mr Mitchell described Mr Bruton as "a weak currency" which in Dublin "is weaker than the Russian rouble . . . He has had his chance and now he should move on."
Mr Noonan said last night that Mr Bruton might step down before Wednesday's ballot. Mr Bruton had been advised by "people close to him" to resign as leader, he told RTE's The Week in Politics.
Mr Bruton, interviewed later on the same programme, rejected the suggestion, insisting he had sufficient support within Fine Gael to carry the vote.
The Fine Gael TD for Dublin South Central, Mr Gay Mitchell - brother of Mr Jim Mitchell - said last night that the party was "turning on itself" when it should be preparing to fight the next general election.