The Progressive Democrats have voted to install Galway man Ciarán Cannon as leader but Senator Cannon could be in possession of the greatest political poisoned chalice in the country as the party seems to have a long way to go to convince its own party members, never mind the electorate, that the party is a force to be reckoned with.

Senator Cannon is on the record as saying next year's local elections will decide the fate of the PDs, acting as a 'litmus test' of the party's future. But it is difficult to know whether the test strip will be reddened by party members jumping ship if the outcome is not as they had hoped or because of people turning their backs on them at the ballot box.

Nothing seals the fate of any organisation like the impression given off by its senior members. If senior members are confident, junior members will follow, while the general public will more readily buy into what they are selling. While the PDs have always been very strong on what they stand for, a terrible blow was struck against the party last year when senior members jumped ship at the first real test of their staying power.

First the party lost stalwart Michael McDowell when he failed to get elected. Next Liz O'Donnell and Tom Parlon walked away, two councillors defected to join other parties, while key staff members at the party's headquarters are also reported to have found pastures anew. Locally, it is widely anticipated that Noel Grealish will join the ranks of Fianna Fáil, having readily admitted to having been courted by the bigger party.

With so few senior members remaining, only two candidates put their names forward for the party's leadership contest, with Mr Cannon narrowly defeating fellow Senator Fiona O'Malley last week. [Mr Cannon received 51 per cent of the party vote, while Fiona O'Malley received 49 per cent.]

However, only 40 per cent of the ordinary membership of the party voted in the leadership contest – just 1,200 voters out of a total 3,400 who were eligible applied for ballot papers to vote, according to a report in this week's Sunday Business Post.

Mr Cannon is to be congratulated for enthusiasm and courage to take on the position of leader at such a telling time for the party. The party is very much at sea and will require a strong hand to keep it afloat, never mind steering it.

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