You need a credible alternative if you want to change a government

THERE’S a story going around that Bertie Ahern isn’t the man he was a year ago.

He's tired, they say. His morale is shattered by being booed at sports events. His personal life is in turmoil. He spends his time mooching alone around Drumcondra. He's convinced the electorate will never forgive him for the promises he made at the last election but never kept.

It's true that electorates have long memories. The Irish electorate never forgave Dick Spring for going into coalition with Fianna Fáil and waited for years for the opportunity to vent their anger. The British people bided their time after Black Wednesday until they could throw out the Tories.