The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, is this weekend expected to back the creation of a semi-formal alliance with the Labour Party and the Greens after the local and European elections.
Nearly 6,000 delegates are expected to attend the party's ardfheis in the CityWest Hotel in Saggart on the outskirts of Dublin.
"There will be a progression in the thinking on foot of the Galway conference last year. This will be another step along the way," a party source said last night.
The party faces a tough task in the June local elections since it won 32 per cent of the local authority seats even though it secured just 28 per cent of the first preference vote.
However, Mr Kenny has made it clear he believes he is required to improve the party's first preference share on where it was when he took over.
Preparing an "evolutionary" speech, Mr Kenny is expected to emphasise the need for trust in politics, and his belief that the Government is failing this test.
The weekend gathering is the first full ardfheis since February 2002, though a succession of motions to change party rules are unlikely to be put to a vote.
Fine Gael's executive council will propose that all rule motions, due to be debated on Saturday morning, be postponed until a special November conference.
In a welcome note prepared for delegates, Mr Kenny said: "These elections will be important for Fine Gael, both in themselves, and as a step on the way to building a better alternative government."
