Ahern upbeat despite by-election failures

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was upbeat today despite his party failing to win the vacant seats in Meath or North Kildare, saying he was prepared to sacrifice by-elections in order to win the general election.

“It’s always nice to win, but I’m used to losing by-elections,” he said. "The only by-election we’ve won was that summer of 1982 and a few months later we lost the general election, and all the by-elections since then we’ve lost and won the five general elections.