FORMER TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern, who launched more books than any leader before him during his 11 years in power, is to become a publishing stablemate of ex-US president Bill Clinton and ex-British prime minister Tony Blair following his decision to write his memoirs.
Mr Ahern has agreed a £400,000-plus deal with Cornerstone Publishing, a subsidiary company of giant US publishers Random House, who have published Mr Clinton's memoirs of his time in the White House and signed up Mr Blair for his record of a decade in No 10 Downing Street.
Promising "a meaningful and honest reflection on my life and my contribution to politics", Mr Ahern, who did not keep a daily journal of his years in power, last night said he was looking forward "immensely" to the project.
The book will deal with "all aspects" of Mr Ahern's personal and political life, which has included marriage to, and separation from, his wife Miriam; the Northern Ireland peace talks and his appearances before the Mahon tribunal.
"It will be a true reflection of his life, personal and political," said a source close to Mr Ahern, who said he has already begun work with his "ghostwriter", University College Dublin academic Prof Richard Aldous.
Mr Blair's former media chief, Alastair Campbell, who praised Mr Ahern in his published diaries of his years in No 10, said Mr Ahern's autobiography would sell not just in the Republic, but also in the United States and the United Kingdom.
"What advice would I have? Make it interesting. Tell the full story. He has done a lot and had a really interesting life," said Mr Campbell, who is yet another Random House signing and the author of a recently published novel, All in the Mind.
Six publishers, Irish and international, were in touch with Mr Ahern within days of his May 6th resignation. His former government press secretary, Mandy Johnston, represented his interests in much of the discussions.
Susan Sandon, managing director of Cornerstone Publishing, first approached Mr Ahern after the two met at the launch in Dublin of Mr Campbell's diaries.
Mr Ahern said yesterday: "I am looking forward to working on this project immensely. It is my ambition that my autobiography will provide a meaningful and honest reflection on my life and my contribution to politics as a member of Dáil Éireann and of my tenure as taoiseach in very challenging and changing times in our history."
Last night, Prof Aldous said Mr Ahern's decision to work with a historian on his still-untitled memoirs showed that he "wanted to look at things in a broader context. this is his autobiography. It is his story, but we have agreed to work on it together."
