Ooooh, what a move! Seriously, a very astute piece of politicking:
Bertie Ahern, called the “Teflon Taoiseach”, who is seeking a third term after ten years in office, surprised the media and opposition parties with an early-morning visit to President Mary McAleese on Sunday, asking her to dissolve Parliament.
He was due to be questioned by the Mahon tribunal – a public inquiry into links between politicians and alleged planning corruption – about money that he and his former partner, Celia Larkin, had received.
On Monday, only 24 hours after Mr Ahern’s dash to Aras an Uachtaran, the President’s official residence in Phoenix Park, Dublin, the tribunal announced that it was suspending hearings until after the election. Alan Mahon, the judge who chairs the inquiry, said that it would be inappropriate to hear evidence with polling day only three and a half weeks away.
Regular readers will know that I think all politicians act in this manner all the time, but when you see something quite as brazen as this it’s impossible not to applaud the sheer chutzpah of the man.
Mr Ahern insisted yesterday that he did not have prior knowledge of the tribunal’s decision to suspend its hearings.
Yeah, right Bertie, pull the other one, the campanologist’s favourite.
Leave a Reply