 On 16 January Cowen announced his decision to stay on as Taoiseach and to lead Fianna Fáil into the general election.On 18 January he called for and won a vote of confidence within the party (which had been precipitated by revelations of two with Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick) with a majority of the 71 Fianna Fáil deputies supporting him.Despite saying he would offer Cowen "full support", Foreign Minister Micheál Martin resigned.