Mick Clifford: Why Bertie Ahern will never be president

Bertie Ahern: It would be huge surprise if he decided to run and a monumental achievement if he were to do so and win. Picture: Gareth Chaney Collins

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Bertie for president? Think again and take a trip back to the 2007 general election. 

The early days of the campaign were dominated by Bertie Ahern’s finances. He had been dragged into the Mahon Tribunal, which was investigating planning corruption. 

There had been an allegation about money being paid to him for a planning favour. That went nowhere but the investigation led down other avenues concerning his finances. 

There was a lot of money swishing about his general person. He didn’t have a bank account at the time he was the minister for finance. 

He received money in foreign denominations. There were whip-rounds and dig-outs from friends to account for some of the cash.

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But by the time the campaign got under way, it was all still a little opaque.

I was one of a clutch of reporters who was existing in what appeared like a never-ending purgatory covering the tribunal.

To us it was obvious that Ahern had major questions to answer and those questions would come his way pretty quickly once the tribunal reconvened after the election.

So the campaign zone was filled with talk about Ahern’s money. And it was obvious that he was faltering.

One example of this was a press conference conducted on Dublin’s Henry Street. Reporter Scott Millar posed a question:

“Taoiseach, Padraic O'Connor says he's not your friend, and yet you say he's a close personal friend who gave you money to help you out in hard times. What have you to say about that?” 

Ahern simply looked away and seven seconds passed before the next question was asked. 

A few days later, at the launch of the Fianna Fail manifesto, Vincent Browne launched an 11-minute fusillade at Ahern, telling him his story “just ain’t credible”.

Then something changed. From a campaigning perspective, Brian Cowen intervened, and Roy Keane-like, he led, dragged and cajoled the Fianna Fail team. 

Beyond that though, the public mood also went though an alteration. 

The problems around Ahern’s finances had not crystallised. On the economic front, things were a little jittery. 

There were signs that the rampaging Celtic Tiger was flagging. 

For 10 years the outgoing taoiseach had been at the helm and the public largely thought he had done a good job. Why change horses now? 

A new term took hold as the campaign gathered pace. “The issues”. 

Don’t mind Bertie and his money. The issues were what mattered. And Ahern appeared to have the best grasp of the issues.

As the campaign wound on, the Bert got his mojo back. 

On the day after the final TV debate, which he was judged to have won, he went to Cork where his appearance at the Wilton Shopping Centre saw him in his element. He glided above the adoring crowd, sprinkling his campaigning magic.

Bertie Ahern resigned as taoiseach in 2008. Picture: Mark Stedman/RollingNews.ie

It was a sterling comeback, but the glitter dulled rapidly once his government returned to power. 

Within nine months, he had resigned as taoiseach and over the following couple of years the economic collapse resulted in a complete reassessment of his tenure in power.

But could he reprise his magic for the touch for a tilt at the Áras? Others with lesser political noses and instincts have made comebacks, so why not him?

Unfortunately for the Bert the chances of doing so are extremely remote. 

As previous campaigns have demonstrated, a presidential candidate’s history isn’t so much raked over as pummelled.

We still don’t know the source of around €200,000 that flowed though his accounts. 

We don’t know any more about his winnings on the horses, or why it was necessary that he was paid in sterling in some instances or whether his narratives about whip-rounds and dig-outs really stack up.

The tribunal’s report in 2012 concluded: “Much of the explanation provided by Mr Ahern as to the source of substantial funds identified and inquired into in the course of the tribunal’s public hearings was deemed by the tribunal to be untrue.” 

Since it was issued nothing but empty assertions by Ahern has contradicted the finding. 

You can even hear his opponents, see them pointing at him in TV studios.

How can you trust this man with the highest office in the land?

His considerable grasp of the issues of state, or even his one shining legacy, the Good Friday Agreement, would provide little ballast for him in a presidential election.

There is only one issue in any race for the Áras and that is character. 

Irrespective of how erudite or knowledgeable a candidate may appear, if anything casts a shadow across their character they’re already losing.

There would be no getting past Bertie’s past, but one suspects that his political nous and nose have already made the decision for him.

It will be a huge surprise if he runs, and a highly unlikely yet monumental achievement if he were ever to do so and win.

If you’re the betting type, there could be a few bob to be won on such a long shot. It would beat anything you might get backing the horses.

This article was originally published on February 10, 2023.