Leo Varadkar has been put on warning by Fianna Fáil that it will not accede to significant policy changes and will ask for a more formal budgetary process when it holds talks with the new leader.
The social protection minister is expected to be elected as Fine Gael leader today, ushering in a generational change of leadership in the party and the country.
Simon Coveney, the housing minister, insisted he could still beat the frontrunner, but said he would work with his opponent if he was defeated. A total of 46 parliamentarians have publically declared for Mr Varadkar, while Mr Coveney has the backing of 21 colleagues.
“Nobody in the Oireachtas has voted yet,” Mr Coveney told the Today with Seán O’Rourke show on RTÉ Radio 1 yesterday. “There was huge pressure on people to declare early and a lot of people have reflected on the failings of the first two days of the campaign. I think some people have reflected on their positions. That is the benefit of a secret ballot,” he added.
With weighted voting in place, which gives TDs, senators and MEPs a 65 per cent share, Mr Varadkar is likely to win comfortably if his avowed supporters follow through on their promises.
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“I have faith in my colleagues,” he said yesterday on Newstalk Drive.
“If any of them do vote differently in the privacy of the ballot box it will be in small numbers and I imagine that can happen in the other direction as well. One thing I can say is that nobody in this contest so far has let me down; I have faith in my colleagues and they have been honest with me all along.”
Mr Coveney’s team said he had a strong chance of winning the support of the grassroots membership, representing 25 per cent of the vote. The remaining 10 per cent is from councillors.
Mr Varadkar said he was confident he could win today and that he believed there had been a hardening of support in his campaign in recent days. “I would like to have a majority of all parts of the college but at the end of the day it’s the overall result that counts.”
The pair also faced questions on how they will ensure the minority coalition remains stable once Enda Kenny’s successor takes over as taoiseach.
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The recess in the Dáil next week will provide Mr Varadkar with an opportunity for “key meetings” with the Independent Alliance and the two other supporting independents.
He also said he intended to honour the confidence and supply deal if he was the person that met the Fianna Fáil leader next week.
“The first meeting will be with the taoiseach I hope, if I am successful I would like to get some advice from him. If I am successful I would like to talk to my campaign team and my supporters.
“I know there is some frustration from Fianna Fáil that some elements of that deal have not been implemented, so I would be happy to talk to them about that but I won’t be opening up a renegotiation,” he said.
Mr Coveney was one of the chief negotiators of the deal that was brokered with both Fianna Fáil and the independents last year and said he expected robust talks with both groups.
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A senior Fianna Fáil source yesterday confirmed that the party was open to talks.
“We are not spoiling for a row, we have an agreement in place and we want to see it implemented in full. That said, I believe it will be the shortest honeymoon period of all time for the new taoiseach,” he said.