BRIAN Cowen's daughter will decide tonight whether the Ireland versus France World Cup qualifier has the X-Factor.

"The litmus test, what I'm looking forward to, is whether my daughter can accompany me to the soccer match or whether she stays at home for X-Factor. That will be it. I'll finally find out whether she's a sportswoman or a pop fan."

If our Brian's predecessor Bertie Ahern had made this remark nobody would raise an eyebrow.

Sure everyone knows Bertie's a sports fanatic, he is also carefully tuned into popular culture, and he often fondly invokes his two girls during interviews.

That statement is, in fact, pure Bertie.

But instead it was the current Taoiseach who said it yesterday during an interview at the British-Irish Council meeting in Jersey.

It was uncharacteristically informal and it simply added to the growing suspicion that Giovanni Trapattoni isn't the only national manager who's thinking tactically. It appears that the Bertification of Brian Cowen is another game that's afoot.

The evidence is compelling; this week kicked off with Cool Cowen giving the X-Factor's Dublin duo, John and Edward Grimes, the official thumbs-up on Monday.

"I wish the twins all the best and I hope they go all the way," he told the Irish Daily Star who promptly splashed the story on the front page.

And then on Thursday a video popped up on Fianna Fail's website in which Brian mused on the prospects of the Irish team's play-off against France today, concluding, "We can be very hopeful and no doubt the lads themselves have the self-belief to do the business and let's hope they do".

Added to yesterday's chatty remarks, it looks as if the image alchemists in the Government Buildings' laboratory are determined to re-invent Brian Cowen as a fuzzier, more user-friendly Taoiseach, using the Bertie magic formula.

But the trouble is, the mould which fits Brian best is not that of Bertie, but of Gordon Brown.

For some time now, the British prime minister's handlers have been assiduously pushing him to be more hip, more smiley, more communicative, more 'down with the kids'.

And the results have been largely disastrous.

His forays onto Youtube have backfired -- in particular when he chose this video forum to announce reform of MPs' expenses, but then spent the three minutes breaking into unsettling random grins.

Even former deputy PM John Prescott declared afterwards, "He has the worst bloody smile in the world".

Gordon and Brian have much in common: they are not natural communicators, they dislike being "handled", they are more comfortable speaking in jargon than using plain language, they have a deep and overt suspicion of the media, they both succeeded charismatic leaders -- and both their personal popularity ratings are at rock bottom.

And while both Gordon Brown's and Brian Cowen's close friends insist their man is witty and sociable within his own circle, these traits rarely surface in their public lives -- and far better they never surface at all, rather than have them bludgeoned into the open by ill-judging spin-doctors.

Last week Gordon offered one possible explanation for his public awkwardness when he said at a press conference, "I am a shy person," and this may be a contributing factor to the Taoiseach's taciturn persona.

But Head of Government is not a good career choice for a shy or a stubbornly reticent person -- not in this age of constant scrutiny by the traditional media, as well as the social possibilities and pitfalls of harnessing the likes of Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.

Any handlers who believe that sticking the boss in front of a video camera to spout off on popular topics such as football will turn him into Taoiseach Trendy is missing the point.

Bertie didn't go on video Big Brother-style (George Orwell not Channel 4) to talk about football; he yakked about it in doorstep interviews, with the public on the street, and he was happy to be photographed in Croker watching the Dubs.

Unlike Brian Cowen, Bertie was a boomtime leader and surfed through much of his tenure on a wave of the feelgood factor. But these are darker days when most of the vibes are bad.

While it's refreshing to hear Brian chat about his daughters and about what's on telly, the communications difficulties between him and the public are about his inability to speak directly to a rattled nation and simply say, "Don't be afraid. We will get through this".

It's sincerity and self-belief, courage and conviction that are priceless gifts for a politician these days.

For everything else there's Eamon Dunphy.

Irish Independent