THE political leader of the year is not Bertie Ahern. Sure, we learned a lot new about him this year but it wasn’t all good. He’s taken a few heavy dents in the past 12 months. For the first time going into an election, there will be no showroom shine.

Not too long ago, Ted Kennedy quoted a famous line from a very famous US Supreme Court jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes.

IN the space of 24 hours this week, two events highlighted the disturbing fault-line in attitudes to violence and gun crime in Irish society.

BERTIE AHERN’S moment of true political genius during this term of Government was realising he had to give Charlie McCreevy the flick.

AS a means of testing the public mood, opinion polls have been the only show in town. Until now that is.

PANTOMIME season is in full swing and clearly this year’s most spectacular (and longest running) show was the one that opened in Stormont yesterday.

A FEW years ago, I interviewed Trevor Sargent and put it to him that the Green Party had gradually come in from the margins to become more populist and more politically palatable to potential partners. No way, he responded.

I’M sorry but I know that lately we’ve been forcing-feeding Bertie on you like Brussels sprouts on a reluctant nine year old.

FIANNA Fáil is almost a unique phenomenon in world politics. In every election for well over 70 years, it has been returned as the largest party.

FOR 18 months, when a series of opinion polls showed the Government parties doing badly, the reaction from Fianna Fáil ministers was predictable.