But while there was some reflection, there was also quite a bit of looking ahead and the mood, though hardly upbeat, was not defeatist. The party's founder, Des O'Malley, assured the faithful that there was still space for a liberal party in Irish politics and that several key elements of the PD agenda . . . increased competition, taking on vested interests and reform of the public service . . . still remained to be tackled.

However, the spotlight has shifted back to the other person who has led the party, Mary Harney. She told reporters outside that she had never shied away from a challenge . . . her record in opposing Charlie Haughey in Fianna Fail is proof of that . . . but the woman always regarded as the heartbeat of the PDs has a lot of thinking to do this weekend.

Still a chance of getting lucky It wasn't supposed to be like this. When she stood down as party leader and tanaiste last September, most believed it was the beginning of a winding down of a remarkable political career.

Those who knew Harney never doubted she would do the right thing by her party and contest the election, but few expected to see her back in a senior role after that. But now she is reluctantly acting party leader again, with a huge decision to make on the PDs' future.

While Harney, understandably, might not be thrilled at the prospect, most Progressive Democrats wouldn't have it any other way. Much as McDowell's intellect and firebrand image have always been admired in the party, there is absolute trust in Harney's political judgement.

Luck is an important ingredient for success in politics and the PDs have had it over the years.

The party has had disastrous elections twice before, but has ended up holding the balance of power and forming part of a coalition government with Fianna Fail. And there is still a good chance that, even with just two seats, the PDs might be about to get lucky again.

It is, of course, possible for Bertie Ahern to form a government without the PDs. Coalition with the Greens would give Ahern 84 seats and he could probably count on the support of Jackie Healy-Rae and Beverley Flynn, giving him a comfortable majority when the job of ceann comhairle is awarded to the opposition.

But, improbable as the notion may seem, Ahern's favoured option may be to add the PDs into that mix. 'Stability' is the word the Taoiseach has used over and over again and, in terms of longevity for the next government, the option of an FF-PD-Green government backed by the support of Healy-Rae, Flynn and perhaps even Michael Lowry is regarded by many in government circles as the current frontrunner.

There are downsides to such an arrangement . . . more jobs for non-Fianna Fail politicians and the Greens' long standing antipathy towards the PDs . . . but it would certainly provide stability for a taoiseach who always likes to have plans B and C.

Fianna Fail is bound to be unsure about how the Greens or certain independents would react in a crisis, but what better way of tying them in than ensuring they are not indispensable to the survival of the government? When the PDs teetered on the brink of pulling out of government last autumn as the Bertiegate revelations broke, perhaps the strongest argument against doing so was that Fianna Fail could continue to govern without them, and depend on the support of independent TDs.

Of course, if Fianna Fail and the Greens cannot agree a common policy platform . . . surely unlikely given the former's pragmatism and the latter's strong desire to be in government . . . the option of Fianna Fail, the PDs and independents forming a government after the fashion of 1997-2002 is still live.

While there is some vague talk in the PDs about the possibility of rebuilding the party from the opposition benches, nobody is taking it too seriously. There is a widespread acceptance that it is power or bust for the PDs. And despite Thursday night's statement that the party has "not ruled anything out", hardly anyone in the PDs believes that coalition with Fine Gael, Labour, the Greens and five independents is realistic.

That leaves Fianna Fail as the only show in the PD town. Government would mean profile and finance for the party . . . absolutely vital in politics today . . . and, crucially, the chance to get two or three Seanad appointments from the Taoiseach, necessary to bulk out a currently puny parliamentary party of two.

Angling for Seanad seats TOM PARLON is a banker to be one of those senate appointments if the PDs are in government and it is widely accepted that, once in the Seanad, he will take over as party leader with the goal of rebuilding the party's organisation. It is believed that Harney will probably be willing to accept the challenge of returning as health minister, but it is accepted that she has no interest in returning to the slog of party leadership and few in the party expect her to contest another general election.

Parlon has none of the ideological drive of McDowell or even of Harney or Des O'Malley, but sources concede that may be just what the PDs need and he has impressed a lot of people in the party with the way he has handled himself over the past month. "It won't be particularly sophisticated, " one source said, before going on to say that no-nonsense grassroots work, of the kind carried out by Enda Kenny for Fine Gael from 2002, might be exactly what is required.

It is accepted that over the past decade the PDs have become top-heavy and that the local organisation has been allowed to decline. "Tom has the capacity to build the organisation. He is very upbeat and positive, " said a senior PD.

There would also clearly be a Seanad seat for deputy leader Liz O'Donnell but there are serious doubts in the party as to whether she wants to stay in politics. O'Donnell told the Sunday Tribune this weekend that she had made "no decision" either way and would not decide until after the summer. Fiona O'Malley and Colm O'Gorman would be the other front-runners for a place in the Upper House.

The aim would be to rebuild the party in time for the 2009 local and European elections, giving it a base of up to 30 county councillors, some of whom would try for seats in the following general election. "2009 is the key, " one party source said this weekend, admitting that a bad election then would probably signal the end for the party, whether it was in government or not.

'PD' now a term of abuse But whether the party will fight those 2009 elections as the Progressive Democrats is very much open to question. There is a view in some quarters that the party's name may have been become a burden.

"We need to look at how the party is branded, " one senior figure told the Sunday Tribune. Another said the name of the party was much less important than its policy agenda but admitted that "the term PD has in the media become a term of abuse and a derogatory term" and that it would need to be looked at if it was making it "difficult for new individuals to shine" because they were "burdened by a negative tag".

In the early part of this decade the party toyed with changing its name to the Liberal Party or the Radical Party but decided against it. The latter name is a non-runner now but the Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats could emerge as a possibility. "Everything has to be on the table [after that election], " said another senior source, before adding that the 6,500 party members would have to be consulted on the issue and there would be no rushed decision . . . a point echoed by others in the parliamentary party.

Coming up with a genuinely radical policy platform that is capable of mirroring the party's likely new liberal emphasis and exciting the electorate in the way the PDs did two decades ago will be a major challenge. But that's for the future. For now it's about survival, and survival, in all probability, means being in government.

The party formed out of disillusionment with Fianna Fail is now dependent on winning its favour. Mary Harney is this weekend enjoying a well-deserved break down the country with husband Brian, but she is likely to be keeping her mobile phone switched on.