Daniel McConnell: Why Fianna Fáil are bringing Bertie back in from the cold

Bertie Ahern’s appearance at a Fianna Fáil event was seen as an “open act of defiance” against the Taoiseach and party leader Micheál Martin, who had repeatedly refused to consider Mr Ahern’s readmittance to the party, but now seems open to it.

Mourners at the funeral of former Judge Fergus Flood in Sutton this week heard that he was a powerful advocate for justice and the rule of law.

Dead at the age of 94, Flood is most famous for his role as chairman of the Flood Tribunal (later the Mahon Tribunal) into allegations of corrupt payments by developers to politicians in the 1990s.

Flood presided over the Tribunal until 2003 when he handed over the reins to Judge Alan Mahon and had by the time of his exit, as his son Richard told the congregation, been turned into “a minor celebrity” by virtue of his role.

It will not be lost on many that the man who established that tribunal was none other than Bertie Ahern, the former taoiseach.

The same Bertie Ahern who was ultimately forced to resign from office and later his party because of tribunal findings against him around his personal finances and the reliability of his evidence to that tribunal.

In the same week of Flood’s demise and journey to eternal rest comes talk of Ahern’s political resurrection and return to the political fold.

Since his downfall in 2012, taking into account his role in the country’s economic collapse and his own
financial dealings, Ahern’s only unsullied success was his role in the North and achieving peace on this island.

He could not with any sense of authority speak about economic policy, given the destruction he and his party inflicted upon this country.

It has been no coincidence that since the 2016 Brexit referendum, Ahern has limited his public utterances to the peace process and the impact of the decision of the UK to leave the European Union.

But there have been signals of such a return. Ahern has been asked by many Fianna Fáil local and grassroots groups to address them on the North in recent years.

Last year, Ahern addressed a meeting of the grassroots ‘Cosmhuintir’ group, attended by several current TDs.

The presence of Mr Ahern was seen by some within Fianna Fáil at the time as an “open act of defiance” against current Taoiseach and party leader Micheál Martin, who had repeatedly refused to consider Mr Ahern’s readmittance to the party.

At its parliamentary party this week, a discussion ensued about next year’s 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, of which Ahern along with then British Prime Minister Tony Blair were instrumental in delivering.

 Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern.

Even Ahern’s most ardent critics cannot fault his commitment to achieving and maintaining peace as well as being an important point of contact for the increasingly marginalised unionist community up north.

As the Irish Examiner revealed on Wednesday night, Donegal Senator Niall Blaney said the party must look to that anniversary and “own it”.

He said that must be down “in a spirit of inclusivity” and referenced the role Ahern played and called on the party essentially not to airbrush him out of the proceedings.

Such sentiments about inclusivity from a Blaney given the family history and Fianna Fáil were not lost on those present.

He was backed by Offaly TD Barry Cowen who said the time has come for Ahern to be re-admitted to the party.

Now, there have been calls for Ahern to be re-admitted before, but current party leader and Taoiseach Micheál Martin has firmly shut the door on such advances.

Remember it was Martin who moved to expel Ahern and others from the party in 2012 following the publication of the Mahon Tribunal report, only for Ahern to pre-empt the push and resign.

Following up on our story from the parliamentary party meeting, reporters nabbed Martin on Thursday morning as he opened a new Penneys store in Tallaght.

Unlike previous occasions, Martin left the door wide open for Ahern to come back into the party, saying “it has been ten years”.

Communication lines

More significantly, Martin confirmed he and Ahern have been in frequent contact over the past year or so in a bid to resolve the current impasse in the North. Ahern and Blair have both been drafted in, behind the scenes, in a bid to get the Assembly up and running.

Martin said he was “open to considering” an application and as such any impediment to Ahern returning has now all but gone.

So why the change of heart and why is Fianna Fáil ready to allow Ahern — a serial liar as concluded by the Tribunal — back into its fold?

Well in fairness, it could legitimately be argued for all his sins, Ahern has paid his dues, firstly by vacating the Taoiseach’s office earlier than he wanted and then to leave the party he led to historic heights for a decade.

Given the response to the proposal internally, Martin opening the door to Ahern is a popular move and would go down well in the ranks who are either hostile or at best neutral toward him at present.

A canvass of the parliamentary party over the past couple of days would tell me that only a small minority would be opposed while many feel the time is right, especially in the context of the Good Friday Agreement.

Ahern has emerged as one of the more credible voices on the northern impasse over the protocol and is in high demand both within Fianna Fáil and among interest groups who want to hear his views.

Also, many older members remember what Ahern did for the party when he was Taoiseach.

He reunited it after decades of divisions dating back to the Haughey: Colley split and the Arms Trial.

He delivered the party to three successive general elections between 1997 and 2007, with seat numbers it can only dream of today.

Twist in the tale

For his part Ahern is keeping his powder dry, but there is an interesting twist to the story.

Ahern’s supporters, including some members of his famous Drumcondra Mafia, have been canvassing opinion in north Dublin among GAA, soccer, and wider community groups as to whether a tilt at becoming President in 2025 is a runner.

Former Dublin Bay North TD and Independent minister Finian McGrath says that in his current role as chair of Shelbourne FC, he is aware of such activity and has been asked what he thinks by supporters of Ahern about his chances of winning such a contest.

Ahern’s ambitions to contest the park are well known and he held back last time because of the popularity of Michael D Higgins and because public opinion was still not where it would need to be.

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Should Ahern stand, it would allow the Fianna Fáil party to throw the financial and organisation might it has behind him.

Many in the party have not been happy with the decision to stay out of the 2011 race and to leave it to others.

They want to win and Ahern is an ideal candidate for them.

But the Aras is the long game.

Step one is to rejoin the fold of Fianna Fáil and it appears the time has come for him to step back out of the shadows.