A deserved moment for the people’s politician
“In history, in politics and in life, there are no ends, only new beginnings. So let us begin,” he told the joint houses of Congress in an echo of John F Kennedy’s inaugural address in 1961.
Next Tuesday, Mr Ahern will resign, his tribunal troubles having finally caught up with him, forcing him out of office at least a year before he was prepared to go.
Coming to Congress wasn’t a bad way of signing off though.
It’s not his last event — next Wednesday morning, technically still taoiseach (as his resignation won’t take effect until that afternoon) he will visit Arbour Hill for the annual 1916 commemoration — but this was the most significant final act.
As Fianna Fáil leader, Bertie Ahern conquered the opposition in three successive general elections. As taoiseach, he conquered Europe, running a hugely successful presidency of the EU in 2004 that saw the leaders of other member states sing his praises. With the help of others, he conquered the seemingly intractable problem that was the north. And because of that, he conquered Britain and America — being invited to address both Westminster and Congress on the back of his achievements.
“It was a proud day for Ireland and obviously it’s a nice day for me,” Mr Ahern told reporters following his address yesterday.
He had the opportunity in the address to point to his own main legacy — the Good Friday agreement and subsequent peace in the north — and pay tribute to all those US politicians who had assisted in the process.
He had the opportunity to cite one of his heroes, Pádraig Pearse, as he spoke of his hopes for the world: religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all citizens, that all children would be cherished equally, and so on.
It was a well-received speech, and Mr Ahern was just as warmly received.
Yet there was undoubtedly an element of Shakespearean tragedy to the day too. Congress issued the invitation to Mr Ahern months before he announced his resignation date, apparently oblivious to the possibility that his address and his departure might coincide. They had expected to be paying tribute to a world-class leader at the height of his powers, not one who had just been felled by his own flaws.
So as Mr Ahern made his appeal to the US to recognise the plight of the illegal Irish, spoke of the future of the Irish-American economic relationship, declared there was no limit to what the EU and US could together do for the betterment of the world, the unspoken truth was that he would no longer be around to help affect any of that change.
The Taoiseach was the people’s politician, the man who rose from a humble background in Drumcondra to run the country, but who had seemingly none of the pretensions that affected his mentor, Charles Haughey.
More than anyone else, it was Mr Ahern himself who painted this picture. Responding in the late 1990s to questions from biographers Ken Whelan and Eugene Masterson about the wisdom of accepting unsolicited donations, Mr Ahern said: “When you co-operate with these guys, they have you. If someone comes along to you and says: ‘Listen, I’d love to support the party; here’s £20,000’ — sure you know bloody well they’re going to be back to you. I mean, I was occasionally slagged off about my anorak and not looking the best or having a few pints or whatever, but I’d rather have that life. Who wants to have islands, helicopters, boats? It’s grand, once I can get into Croker or Dalyer.”
He went better than Croker — anyone present in the magnificent setting of Congress yesterday could have testified to that. But the ‘man of the people’ image has been tarnished somewhat now.
Bertie Ahern may not have had the islands or helicopters or boats, but he did take the unsolicited donations, and they came back to haunt him.
Yesterday was his well-deserved moment, an honour for the immense work he did for his country. But the new beginnings will happen with someone else.
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