Ahern ushers in a new Haughey era

WITH the most delicious timing, Bertie Ahern made good on a blank cheque for Haughey yesterday.

The irony of young Seán finally getting his passport to the Government benches within hours of his father’s truly unique contribution to Irish democracy being laid bare by the long awaited Moriarty Tribunal report was rich indeed.

For a Teflon Taoiseach, Mr Ahern has an unhappy knack of getting burned when it comes to carving the turkey, to use Margaret Thatcher’s typically ruthless phrase for ministerial reshuffles.

But Seán had been planning his escape from the back benches for 14 years and with almost unseemly haste, he bounded down the Dáil steps to take up his new seat behind Bertie, with something of the air of an overexcited spaniel.

A popular and likeable figure, the Dáil chamber erupted in warm applause around him on his elevation to the position of Minister of State for Education — well the dozen or so TDs who had bothered to turn out for Taoiseach’s Question Time did.

(The other 154 deputies are presumably too exhausted from the 90 days they’ve been asked to show up for work this year to even think about summoning the energy to attend the Oireachtas again until after their well deserved six-week Christmas holiday).

The arcane working habits of the Dáil mirror Bertie’s thinking patterns; in the way of Czarist Russia before him, the Taoiseach embraces change slowly and with great reluctance.

Which is why the retiring Síle de Valera was allowed to hold onto her ministerial post for so long before vacating it, and why Mr Ahern seems to make an unholy hames of all his shake-ups.

Young Seán was expected to get the nod in February, but, instead, at the last minute, was left twisting in the breeze.

This being a slightly dysfunctional parliamentary democracy, Mr Haughey then went on national radio to make thinly veiled threats about quitting Fianna Fáil, unless he got his turn at playing junior ministers next time around.

A meeting with the Taoiseach was hastily arranged and matters sorted, but as with all such Ahern-Haughey encounters down the years, no favours were sought or given — though the feeling that Bertie owed Seán one was allowed to permeate.

And who could forget the previous pantomime Mr Ahern’s aversion to a swift decision provided us with, last Christmas, in the form of Ivor Callely and his capacity to command free home decorating.

How poor Ivor must wish he had forgone the paint job and just cut to the chase with a smorgasbord of loans and personal appearance fees.

Then his popularity would have skyrocketed and his Government post been secured.

But, as with doing the State some service, no more of that.