John Drennan: He's heroic, smart and cunning, so why not bring back Bertie?
Just like in a Greek tragedy, nemesis can be followed by redemption, writes John Drennan
There may be an over-supply of second-hand prime ministers in the political market but after the launch of Tony Blair's autobiography, one "heroic, smart, cunning in the best sense, strong'' figure is ahead of the herd.
The even better news is that 'he' is Irish, serving in the Dail and is most assuredly available for duty. However, before you all start celebrating the arrival of the perfect replacement for the abysmal Brian Cowen there is one problem.
The "heroic, smart, cunning" one Blair was referring to is Bertie Ahern. To date the political story of Bertie, and the Celtic Tiger, has followed the pattern set by all great tragedies.
This consists of hubris when the excessive pride of an individual or a state leads them to think they are greater than the gods.
Sadly, as poor Icarus who flew too close to the sun and plunged out of the sky discovered, this is always followed by nemesis where the gods punish those who would rival them.
Ahern recently experienced his own moment of nemesis courtesy of a text poll on RTE's Liveline about the preferred choice as Ireland's next President.
In spite of a less-than-stellar cast of options, the former Taoiseach suffered the rare indignity of being eliminated on the first count.
Like many other things on Joe Duffy's show, the poll was an interesting social experiment, but it was asking the wrong question.
The real issue in Irish politics is not whether Ahern should go to the Phoenix Park. Instead, as Ireland teeters towards the edge of a sovereign default, we should really ask whether we need him back in the Taoiseach's office.
Yes, we know about Enda Kenny and pink-but-perfect Eamon Gilmore, but unless our ramshackle Coalition commits hari-kari, and that's not at all impossible, for the moment we're stuck with it.
Of course, bringing back Bertie is as popular as suggesting we send an apology to Queen Elizabeth over the current mess, accompanied by a plea to our British friends to take us back.
But when it comes to the great revolt against Ahern are we, rather like the fox in the trap that gnaws his leg off to escape, doing more harm than good to ourselves?
One of the great, though ultimately unsuccessful, political advertisements in the last American election consisted of the image of a phone in the presidential office ringing at 3am.
The question the electorate had to answer was whether you wanted the call to be answered by the experienced Hillary Clinton or the neophyte Barack Obama.
We, of course, had our own 3am moment in 2008 when the banks and State teetered at the edge of the abyss.
On this occasion when the phones rang, a sleeping John Gormley's mobile was switched off, and the deal with the banks was done by an academic barrister with a pass in Leaving Certificate maths and a bewildered Taoiseach.
Of course no one can argue against the fact that Ahern, in his post-McCreevy imperial phase, sowed the dragon's teeth of our current disasters. But from 2006, Ahern was a Taoiseach who was being hollowed out by his inglorious squalid struggle with the legal morass of Mahon.
The tribunal, however, and its expected report, is merely waiting for its final location in the dustbin of history.
If we put the Enda option to one side -- there now, that only took a second and didn't hurt at all -- do we really think Cowen's 'return of the living dead'-school of governance will chart a happy path out of this wreck?
Say what you want about Ahern, but were he in charge he would not be slouching around scowling on the sort of golf cart normally reserved for 70-year-old US golfing tourists.
Instead, now that he has been released from tribunal toxins, a psychologically impoverished people would be seeing the return of the Bertie we used to have.
Of course, some Fianna Fail TDs already believe there is a better alternative, but in spite of the 'feverish intrigue', Brian Lenihan does not come festooned with guarantees.
For now Lenihan, like Cowen before him, is enjoying his status as the Little Prince of the FF backbenchers
But there is a sense that, rather like his predecessor, the new improved Lenihan is not half as keen to be taking any sips from the poisoned chalice of the Taoiseach's office as his supporters are.
There may be a sort of quasi-superstitious national hysteria surrounding the current deification of the Finance Minister, but this is as misplaced as the Finance Minister's breezy assertion earlier last year that we had "finally turned the corner".
The truth of things is that the Finance Minister's policies on Nama, the banks and the deficit have collapsed in a heap around a pair of feet that may actually be made of clay.
But until Labour's Sir Talks-a-Lot brings his knights to the cabinet round table we are stuck with this lot.
Until then, outside of vigour and leadership, Bertie would bring other critical political attributes to the table.
When it comes to the ruthlessness we now need, Ahern would not be distracted from what has to be done to save the State, and his legacy, by scruples or loyalty.
These can sometimes be good qualities but when they influence how you behave with the bankers, civil-service mandarins, builders and colleagues who collectively cast the State into a furnace then they are of scant use.
Mr Ahern remains qualified for the task of rescuing the State in one other critical area.
The rescuing of the country is a 20-hour-a-day job and, unlike our current Taoiseach, Ahern has few distractions.
Whatever about his election slogan of 1997, in the secret world of Bertie it was always a case of politics before people.
There will be no shortage of ethicists who will argue that even if he remains the best man for the job it would be an act of amorality to bring him back.
But returning Ahern to office would be the political equivalent of community service for on every working day the Taoiseach would be confronted with the consequences of his policies and told "You had better sort this one out too, Bertie".
One of the most famous political cartoons is Tenniel's 'dropping the pilot', where he compared Kaiser Wilhelm's sacking of Bismarck,
who united Germany without spilling a drop of blood, to a new captain of a ship dismissing his wiser predecessor.
It is perhaps time for a debate over whether Ireland has dropped the great pilot of Drumcondra, who also ended our great national quarrel without spilling a drop of blood, too speedily.
The FF TDs might consider it at their annual 'drink-in' for they will know that in Greek tragedies, or Coronation Street, nemesis can be followed by redemption.
- John Drenan
Originally published in
