Kelly hardly ever rebelled (voted) against the position of her Party and in the most divisive votes over Labour's term Kelly followed the Party line.

Midterm congressional elections are to be held in 1997 and divisive votes between now and then are likely to hurt the party's candidates.

Signaling the prospect of some significantly divisive votes in the coming months, Mr. Cox said that he was not driven to seek consensus or unanimity among the commission's polarized members.

Nixon resigned the Presidency on August 9, 1974, sparing the nation an agonizing and divisive vote in the House and trial in the Senate.

Mr. Daschle said in a statement that he would continue to try to resolve the outstanding issues "through negotiations and discussions rather than potentially divisive votes."

Because Mr. Cox has tried to avoid divisive 3-to-2 votes, he would have to devise a solution that Ms. Casey would find palatable.

"I would hope it does not come down to a divisive vote."

What they hope at all costs to avoid is a potentially divisive public vote.

But Ms. Kortmann, a state secretary in the development ministry, said the United States should be given "room to react" to the crisis before any divisive vote at the bank.

In a divisive vote in December, European transportation ministers refused to approve financing for Galileo, pushing the final vote to European Union leaders.