Goodbye Bertie
It's been one of those days on which I've been too busy to blog, running in to one of our radio studios for a special news programme when Bertie Ahern announced his departure. Then on to Talkback, the 大象传媒 Network News at One and finally off to Stormont Castle to talk to Ian Paisley about his surprisingly warm rapport with the Taoiseach.
Far from lobbing snowballs at Bertie, the DUP leader was effusive about Mr Ahern's negotiating skills, saying he knew when not to speak and that the days of threats between north and south were over.
It's a weird coincidence that both the First Minister and the Taoiseach are now working their notice, having both promised to leave the scene in May. The First Minister says he still hopes to see Mr Ahern at his US Investment Conference on May 7th, even if he is only a caretaker. But our sources in Dublin suggest the transition could be complete by then (Mr Ahern gave May 6th as his departure date).
I don't want to "upset the apple tart", to quote a famous Bertie-ism, but this raises the intriguing possibility of the First Minister welcoming a politician as Taoiseach who he once lampooned for having "thick lips". I asked about this in a circuitous fashion, and the DUP leader responded that he thought Mr Cowen had seen the jocular side of the remark, by acknowledging he wasn't the most beautiful politician ever.
I'm 
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Mark
BERTIE NO LONGER THE CUTEST H**R OF THEM ALL
Charles J Haughey said many years ago that Bertie was 鈥渢he cutest h**r of them all鈥. That was true until now but Judge Mahon has put paid to that claim. Thus, Bertie follows his mentor, the crooked Haughey, into that Hall of Infamy of corrupt southern politicians who have besmirched the name of Ireland.
With Bertie gone, let鈥檚 hope that another corrupt politician in Zimbabwe also gets his marching orders very soon.
ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO!
Susie
Carryduff
2 April, 2008
PS (i): Mark, please don鈥檛 think I am being immodest but I would remind you of my Post of 9 October, 2007 forecasting that the investigation by the Mahon Tribunal was going to foreshorten Bertie鈥檚 political life. See penultimate paragraph of Post No 1 in this link: /blogs/thereporters/markdevenport/2007/10/sir_reg_on_the_pact.html So there!
PS (ii): I am also delighted that Mark Durkan heeded my advice to be circumspect in his dealings with Bertie. See Post No 3 of 19 September, 2007 /blogs/thereporters/markdevenport/2007/09/a_tip_in_tipperary.html
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern did our island great service this past decade and more. Whilst I disagreed with the changing of Articles 2 & 3 of Bunreacht na h脡ireann, it was in the end a small price to pay for peace; and Ahern's role in all of this should not be underestimated. He brought the south of Ireland to influence in the north, making what was laid out in theory in the Anglo-Irish Agreement, a reality.
Whilst it became increasingly inevitable that not even Ahern would be able to shake off the Mahon Tribunal; Irish nationalism has lost a significant figurehead, and I doubt An T谩naiste Brian Cowen will be able to replace his mentor in this respect. I sneakily suspect Peter Robinson will be relieved to find an opponent who will most likely take a more back-seat to the Irish Question then his predecessor did.
Bertie, go raibh maith agat!
In response to Susie Flood comparing Bertie to Mugabe:
Would you have a little bit of sense woman. Mugabe is a butcher, responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people, not to mention bringing a once shining light in Africa to economic ruination.I'm not a big fan of Bertie, but for God's sake give us a break !!
Bertie Ahern is an example to all Politicians that lying and cheating is not the way to act in political life. This just shows that in my opinion all politicians are in it for 2 things.
1. Money
2. Power
I am glad that Bertie has gone after all this farce with the Mahon tribunal. This was revealed by the southern journalists who are not lazy (hint hint Mark) Bertie went because the active journalists dug and dug and brought into the public eye which we deserve to know. Last week on the Late Late Show on RTE Pat Kenny had Senator Owen Harris, Eamon Dunphy and John Waters on. Harris defended Bertie has he is a chum but the other 2 didn鈥檛 look at this subject like some Northern Journalists would and be afraid of offending people. Instead Dunphy talked about the money lodged in to accounts and the lies he told. At the end of this Bertie is just tarred with the same brush - all liars