Ahern naming Cowen successor ‘jumping the gun’

DERMOT Ahern yesterday accused the Taoiseach of “jumping the gun” by endorsing the Minister for Finance Brian Cowen as the next leader of Fianna Fáil.

Setting a marker for his own leadership ambitions, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said the issue of a leadership contest was not yet on the radar.

“The whole issue of leadership isn’t on the agenda and won’t be on the agenda for some considerable time, as the Taoiseach has said. I think it’s jumping the gun by anybody to speculate in that respect,” he said, speaking at the conclusion of Fianna Fáil’s parliamentary party meeting in Druid’s Glen, Co Wicklow.