Ahern’s departure not what he envisaged

WHEN he was taoiseach, Bertie Ahern spoke of his intention to step down from politics when he was 60. He will reach that age next September, so stepping down at the general election means that he is essentially fulfilling that intention.

Of course, this is not the way he envisaged going.

When he was re-elected for a third consecutive term as taoiseach following the 2007 general election, Mr Ahern built a novel and seemingly impregnable coalition that had a comfortable majority in the Dáil. The Fianna Fáil-Green-PD government looked capable of surviving its full five-year term to 2012. Mr Ahern effectively anointed his successor by talking up the talents of his deputy, Brian Cowen. The plan seemed clear: an orderly hand-over some time in early to mid-2011, with Mr Ahern departing to the sound of applause in his ears and the tantalising possibility of running for the presidency later in the year.