THE leadership of the PDs is experiencing furious opposition to its plans for an orderly wind-up of the party and will have to endure a stormy meeting of the PD National Executive next Thursday.

Only the National Executive has the power to call a special conference to close down the PDs, and informed sources say a significant proportion – "at least 30%-40%" – of the 20-strong body is opposed to the dissolution of the party.

Amid growing evidence of unrest across the party, former PD minister Tim O'Malley this weekend told the Sunday Tribune the proposal from the parliamentary party to call time on the PDs was far from guaranteed to succeed. "There is significant resistance. I do believe it could be voted down. The game isn't over. This is not a done deal. There are a lot of angry members."

O'Malley said councillors were very upset because they thought last Tuesday night's meeting was going to be a discussion about the viability of the PDs. "Instead, they were presented with a fait accompli," he said, adding: "The four [parliamentary party members] were entitled to do that, but I don't think it was wise [prior to consultation]".

A number of PD figures told the Sunday Tribune they believed the leadership's view would ultimately hold sway. But they agreed the possibility of either the National Executive vetoing a motion calling a special conference or the conference voting to keep the PDs in existence, could not be ruled out.

It is probable – though certainly not inevitable – that the executive will back the holding of a national conference on Thursday night, if only to allow the entire party membership "to have their say" on the PDs' future at a special conference.

"But I don't think it'll be as straightforward as they plan­ned it last Tuesday night," one source said. "There will be severe questioning of the parliamentary party members [next Thursday] and there will be a lot of angry words."

"There'll be a bit of a scrap at the National Executive and, [assuming it happens] at the conference, it's no bad thing to have a bit of argy-bargy and let people have their say as long as it doesn't get personal. There is a lot of shock and a lot of anger still," another source said.

The prospect of the party membership facing down moves to end the PDs would be disastrous for the leadership and would inevitably prompt top-level resignations from the party. "Do I think they [the opponents of winding up the party] can win? I don't think so. Mary Harney's word carries huge sway. As does the Galway contingent. But the National Executive will be very interesting," one senior figure said, agreeing things could get "messy".