Micheal Martin said the survival of ruling party Fianna Fail was at stake The Irish government's chief whip says the foreign minister's decision to vote against PM Brian Cowen in a confidence vote is not backed by colleagues.
"I haven't heard of any other minister backing [Foreign Minister] Micheal Martin at this time," John Curran has told Irish broadcaster RTE.
Mr Martin has said that a new leader is necessary before a general election.
Brian Cowen has decided not to step down but has offered colleagues a secret confidence ballot on Tuesday.
The taoiseach, who is also facing an opposition motion of no confidence in parliament, has come under pressure because of revelations of a 2008 meeting with the head of Anglo Irish Bank shortly before he announced a multi-billion euro bank guarantee.
Former Anglo Irish chairman Sean FitzPatrick is still subject to official scrutiny over his role in the bank's collapse and has previously been questioned by police.
Mr Cowen, who came to power in 2008, has denied discussing bank matters at the golf course, insisting he had not done political favours for any financial institution.
His position has come under political pressure since the Irish Republic was forced to seek a bail-out by the EU and IMF late last year.
Mark Simpson, BBC News, Dublin
There are three reasons why supporters of Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen are convinced he will win Tuesday's confidence vote.
Firstly, they say that Mr Cowen's main rival - Foreign Minister Micheal Martin - looks weak after offering to resign but not actually quitting.
Secondly, no other senior member of the Irish cabinet has joined Mr Martin in the ranks of the rebels.
Thirdly, Mr Cowen has spoken directly to all of his parliamentary colleagues and been assured by the vast majority of their support.
The only danger for the taoiseach is the fact that Tuesday's confidence vote is private. It is not just a show of hands. Those voting against Mr Cowen will not have to look him in the eye as they do so.
Mr Martin is hoping that the secret ballot will be his secret weapon.
A general election is expected in March and Micheal Martin, a potential rival to succeed Mr Cowen as leader of the Fianna Fail party, said on Sunday that he had "reluctantly concluded" that a new leader was necessary as the party's "very survival" was at stake.
Mr Martin told a news conference that he had offered to stand down as foreign minister but Mr Cowen had told him that was unnecessary.
The prime minister said on Sunday that while Fianna Fail was important, the interests of the country were "paramount".
"As taoiseach my total focus must remain with discharging my duties to the people," he said.
The normal party procedure for removing the leader begins when a quarter of all party MPs sign a notion of no-confidence.
Mr Cowen said he wanted to dispense with those procedures to hold the secret vote of confidence on Tuesday.
Although Fianna Fail MP Noel O'Flynn has called for the party to unite behind Mr Martin, Deputy Prime Minister Mary Coughlan has said she believes in Mr Cowen's leadership.
The chief whip said he believed Mr Cowen would win Tuesday's vote.
"It's a question that the members of the parliamentary party believe that he is the best person to lead this country over the next number of weeks into the general election and he is the best person to lead Fianna Fail into the general election," Mr Curran said.
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-europe-12204742
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