Wanted: safe, tactful pair of politically tested hands from a centre party and small country. Only former prime ministers need apply. In many respects the skills required of the President of the European Commission are indeed those demonstrated by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in his deft handling of the Irish presidency of the EU and notably the negotiation of its constitution.
It is not surprising then that a reluctant Taoiseach has found himself under mounting pressure from his fellow EU leaders to take on the role. Their confidence in Mr Ahern is no small tribute to the political skills of the man and to the European credentials of a State which has led the 25-members into a new era.
Ireland has always come to the task of the EU presidency insisting that its agenda is the collective agenda of the Union and this freedom from "baggage", complemented by meticulous planning by talented officials, has made it possible to provide the honest-broker role that the Union needs to keep its business moving efficiently. Mr Ahern has proved himself well-suited to this role over the past six months.
Like the European Council and Council of Ministers he knows so well, Mr Ahern would find, in the Commission, that the challenge is again largely the delicate reconciling of national self-interests with the greater good of the Union. His down-to-earth style and skills as a negotiator, honed in the Department of Labour, successive national agreements, and the peace process in Northern Ireland, would stand him in good stead. What Brussels needs now is not so much a visionary, because the vision has been set out in the constitutional treaty, but a conciliator, a listener and a pragmatist to bring together the enlarged community for a period of learning and consolidation.
When Mr Ahern puts his mind to it, he can be a skilled communicator whose common touch and ability to make a case in the language of ordinary people makes him just the sort of public advocate the Commission, indeed the EU, needs in these Eurosceptical times. Although the Taoiseach might find his networking skills hampered by his lack of French, his task would by no means be impossible, as he so ably demonstrated in negotiations last week.
From a national perspective, the appointment of an Irishman as President of the Commission would provide both an important public affirmation of the centrality of the EU to this State's concerns, but also invaluable access to its centres of power and agenda-setting forums.
The Taoiseach has not applied for the position. Mr Ahern is the quintessential Dub whose base is Drumcondra. He would probably prefer not to take the job. But if he were to be the consensus candidate for President of the EU Commission, it is an honour for himself and his country which he should not spurn lightly.
His premature departure from the national stage may not suit the Coalition Government but, on this occasion, Fianna Fáil should be ready to sacrifice party for national interest.