Political EditorKevin Rafter looks at the issues facing each of the Dail parties in the months ahead.

FIANNA FAIL Despite its success in being returned to government in the recent general election, Fianna Fail is a political party in transition.

The party has enjoyed a prolonged period without internal strife since Bertie Ahern became leader in late 1994. Indeed, the 30 years that followed the retirement of Sean Lemass in 1963 were marked by deep divisions with Jack Lynch, Charlie Haughey and Albert Reynolds all failing, for a variety of reasons, to secure loyalty from significant sections of the party.

To his credit Ahern has succeeded in unifying the various factions. But his tenure as leader is almost over, and the leadership change during the life of the new Dail will bring considerable uncertainty. Those with ambitions for promotion will want Ahern gone early. Nervous local election candidates will have to weigh up the impact on their campaigns of having either Ahern or a new leader, as the party's face on the posters.

Ahern's promotion of Brian Cowen may prompt the ABCs (Anyone But Cowen) in the parliamentary party to seek a change at a timing not to the taoiseach's liking or the finance minister's advantage. The leadership question will also have an impact on membership morale.

Having announced his intention to resign during the life of the current Dail, Ahern is already a lame duck leader. And his authority will decrease with each day he remains in office.

Indeed, as his exit looms his ability to control his parliamentary party could become even more difficult. The ongoing publicity associated with Ahern's personal finances will also spur on the constituency in the party who favour an early leadership change. It all adds to a dangerous combination of political elements that might ultimately weaken Fianna Fail's grip on power.

The party will also have to rejuvenate itself while in office because, despite its electoral successes last May, Fianna Fail is an organisation in need of serious onthe-ground repair. In many constituencies, especially in the Dublin region, there is literally no party organisation.

The imposition of candidates in the recent election illustrated the absence of vibrant local branches.

These organisational challenges will be most felt in the local elections in 2009. The party performed poorly in 2004 and can ill-afford to lose too many more council seats.

FINE GAEL A new Fine Gael was on display in Galway last week when the party's TDs and Senators gathered for their pre-Dail and Seanad parliamentary think-in. Enda Kenny's party finds itself in the unusual position of having won significant numbers of extra seats in the recent general election but still starting the new parliamentary session on the opposition benches.

The latter disappointment, however, has been contained somewhat by the boost that comes from the knowledge that the party's future has been secured. Fine Gael will be a much bigger presence in the new Dail with the return of old hands like Sean Barrett and Alan Shatter alongside the arrival of a collection of ambitious new TDs. The first notable difference in the Dail chamber will be the increased quality of opposition provided from Fine Gael as Enda Kenny has a larger and improved pool of talent from which to select his frontbench spokespersons. Government ministers will face more formidable marking from their Fine Gael counterparts in the new Dail. The task facing Kenny will be to seamlessly merge the expectations of the different groups in his enlarged parliamentary party.

Those who slugged it out after the 2002 meltdown will expect acknowledgement of their efforts. The newly-elected TDs are marked by considerable ambition and will want recognition for their efforts in winning Dail seats, while the old-timers will bring a certain 'been there, done that'' attitude without appreciation of the struggle endured by those who soldiered on in the Dail after 2002.

The big question from Fine Gael, of course, is whether Enda Kenny will stay the course until the next general election. He has probably one of the most difficult jobs in Irish politics, and as with the 2007 election, there is no guarantee that in five years' time the hard work will guarantee a term in government. Kenny is secure until after the 2009 local and European elections, where the loss of seats might spur on those who believe the Mayoman has achieved his potential and will never be Taoiseach. In the meantime, with a larger Fine Gael presence in Dail Eireann, Kenny will have an opportunity to present himself as the leader of the opposition. The loosening of the ties with Labour and the demise of the Progressive Democrats will allow Fine Gael to assume a more right-wing policy orientation. This stance would be in keeping with the outlook of the majority of those in the Fine Gael parliamentary party.

Kenny's new policy commissions might encourage the party to offer the public something more radical and risky than the 2007 prescription. The lesson from the recent contest should be that a message which stresses that Fianna Fail has been there too long and that now it's our turn will not be enough to win over sufficient numbers of voters.

LABOUR New Dail session, new Labour leader. Ten years ago Ruairi Quinn stepped forward. Five years ago it was Pat Rabbitte's turn. Now, after a third successive general election disappointment, Eamon Gilmore has been given the task of getting Labour into government.

The party is nowhere near as demoralised as many commentators have said. However, it needs to modernise and present a more coherent message to the electorate which clearly explains why a government would be different with Labour's participation. The party will also have to address the glaring gap in financial resources between itself and Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.

The focus in the months ahead, however, will be on Gilmore. His decision to park the electoral strategy issue was well advised as it allows him to concentrate solely on the Labour Party.

He will also come under some internal pressure to end Labour's historical ties with the trade union movement. His parliamentary presence will be key to ensuring that a revitalised Fine Gael does not dominate the opposition benches. But his real work will be in establishing his own . . . and Labour's . . . identity with the wider public.

Mirroring the two larger centrist parties in policy terms will not bring success. Safety will have to be jettisoned. A couple of additional percentage points in the opinion polls would show that Labour could be key to whatever government is formed after the next general election.

N1 GREENS In the three months since the Greens entered government with Fianna Fail the most notable development has been the high level of activity of the three Green ministers. John Gormley, Eamon Ryan and Trevor Sargent have taken well to their respective ministerial positions.

The months ahead will, however, give an indication if the trio can bring a coherence to their work agendas that ultimately benefits their political party. Gormley will also have to juggle his multitude of new responsibilities as government minister and party leader.

The party will be targeted by Fine Gael and Labour in the new parliamentary session. Every time a Fianna Fail minister makes a decision which runs contrary to previous Green Party utterances, expect to see and hear Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore tut-tutting at Gormley for "supping with the devil." As the Greens will discover as time progresses, being in government involves compromise and concessions with their larger coalition partner. It is still unclear how the existing Green membership will respond to this transition from party of protest to an establishment party. A new general secretary will be appointed shortly with a key task of preserving existing constituency organisations and spotting areas for development.

PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS The demise of the Progressive Democrats has been written about on so many occasions and never as frequently as in the weeks since the party's demoralising general election performance. But unlike on previous occasions, it is hard to see what can be done to save the party now that so many heavy-hitters including Michael McDowell, Tom Parlon and Liz O'Donnell have departed. With the exception of Harney's presence in the Dail chamber for health department questions, the PDs will struggle to make a national impact in the new parliamentary session.

Should Mary Harney and the handful of senior personnel still involved have the energy, they could give the party a stay-of-execution until the local and European elections in 2009. But without success in those contests it will be very hard to see how the party could continue into the future, especially with Harney on the final lap of her political career. Indeed, talk of Harney stepping down as leader in the next few months will only hasten the PDs demise.

With no organisation and few national politicians, all that remains would be a small group of individuals trading as a political party.

SINN FEIN The debate about the future of Shannon airport and Aer Lingus's London slot switch to Belfast impacts on Sinn Fein almost as greatly as on the Fianna Fail TDs in the mid-west region. The 2007 general election was a huge disappointment for Sinn Fein and, while the party is examining reasons for its failure, Shannon may well confront Gerry Adams with an insurmountable truth . . . it is impossible to operate a political party in two different jurisdictions.

Sinn Fein will remain the dominant force in Northern nationalist politics but in Dail Eireann the party is still a small niche player. The failure to make an electoral breakthrough in the recent election will cost Sinn Fein in terms of its ability to fully participate in Dail debates. The end of the peace process will also give the party far less media oxygen.

In truth, since the mid-1920s, Sinn Fein, in its various guises, has been little more than a rump in Irish politics, and in the absence of a breakthrough in the local and European elections in 2009 there is little reason to expect that the party will not continue this poor historical trend in southern politics.