The Fine Gael Parliamentary Party will meet again today in the second of two days of effort to agree on the appointment of a leader, without the need for a potentially divisive election.
Gathered in a hotel on the outskirts of Dublin, TDs, MEPs and senators spent much of the first session discussing the qualities needed by whoever takes over from Mr Michael Noonan.
Strikingly, the meeting was held without rancour or bitterness despite the loss of 23 Dáil seats, including most of the party's representation in the capital.
"The atmosphere was really very good," said one TD.
By late evening, however, a number of the potential candidates had begun to lay out their stalls for colleagues, often during a series of smaller groupings.
The candidates could include: the Dublin North Central TD, Mr Richard Bruton; the Mayo TD, Mr Enda Kenny; Mr Phil Hogan from Carlow-Kilkenny; Mr Gay Mitchell of Dublin South Central; Cork South Central's Mr Simon Coveney; and Longford-Roscommon's Mr Denis Naughten.
Last night some of those close to the meeting told The Irish Times that they believed the 29-year-old Mr Naughten would withdraw, rather than block a consensus if it looked like emerging.
Other sources claimed that Mr Coveney had told some colleagues that he would only throw his hat formally into the ring if Mr Mitchell declared his intention to run.
The former Taoiseach, Mr John Bruton, said a consensus leader was "advisable and indeed desirable". All of Fine Gael's leaders elected to the post of Taoiseach had been appointed in this way, he said.
"While historical precedent does not prove anything, this is probably too much of a coincidence to be ignored," said Mr Bruton, who is believed by some colleagues to be ready to resume the top post, if necessary.
Up to late last night the TDs, MEPs and senators were still struggling to square the circle left by an ardfheis motion last February that demands that the grassroots have a vote in the next leadership selection.
Under this motion, the organisation's constituency executives would control 30 per cent of the leadership vote, the Parliamentary Party 50 per cent and councillors the remainder.
However, it also required that the leader be re-elected every two years, whether in power or not. Currently, the leader only goes forward for re-election after a general election where FG does not go into office.
If an election is necessary, a majority of the Parliamentary Party now believes that it should not be held until the new Seanad is elected in late July.
However, the postal ballot of the party's branches needed to ratify the ardfheis will have been completed a few days before the counting of the Seanad votes is over.
The Donegal South West TD, Mr Dinny McGinley, voiced the belief of many of the politicians when he said: "You cannot force the leader to go up for re-election every two years, as the ardfheis motion demands." The meeting began behind schedule, following the late arrival of a number of TDs.
Mr Noonan, who remains acting leader of the party, said he would be prepared to stay on in that role "for 48 hours or for two months, as the party decides".
He sat at the meeting's top table, along with the chairman of the Parliamentary Party, the Galway West TD, Mr Padraig McCormack, and Mr Coveney, who is the party's acting whip.
"The first part of the meeting was an attempt to create building blocks from which people could move forward. Coveney appeared to have brought along a management manual to get it started," said one source.
