Not always ready to make nice

THERE is a contradiction about Dermot Ahern’s make-up as a political animal. Its dividing line is where being a Fianna Fáil TD stops and where being a Government minister begins.

In his nine years in Cabinet — since September 2004 as Minister for Foreign Affairs — Dermot Ahern has become one of Bertie Ahern’s closest allies: valued for his loyalty, his experience, calmness, unflappability, and media savvy. He is no slouch when he is asked to go out and bat for the Government or, indeed, for personal profile purposes.

The most memorable description ever made of Dermot Ahern (if not totally fair) was Pat Rabbitte’s jibe that he was a “Dundalk boot boy”. Not totally inaccurate either. For, below the smooth ministerial surface, you will encounter deadly currents, not immediately visible to a wider public but plain as a pikestaff in the political arena.