The direction can alter considerably when politics are put on hold

IN A sense, Irish politics has gone into suspended animation. Bertie Ahern has been replaced as leader of Fianna Fáil but he remains as Taoiseach for over three weeks. This kind of hiatus effectively happens just about every decade after an election in which the people decide to change government.

Our politics have settled down and we can be confident the change will take place. Of course, the last time the hiatus lasted a month proved a time of profound change.

Essentially, politics are being put on hold to facilitate the Taoiseach’s address to the joint session of the United States Congress at the end of the month. This is a great honour for Bertie Ahern and the country. Our Taoiseach will become one of only a handful of people accorded the honour of addressing both the British and US legislatures. I wonder, though, if we have matured enough that this could have taken place in the reverse order without the usual Brit bashing.