Inside politics:The struggle for power took an intriguing turn over the past week. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's authority has become ever more frayed as a result of the ongoing Mahon tribunal revelations, his anointed successor, Brian Cowen, has adopted an increasingly statesman-like pose as the ultimate prize looms closer, while Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has become more aggressive in his long-term pursuit of power, writes Stephen Collins
It was a difficult week for Ahern and at times there were uncharacteristic flashes of public anger which showed the strain he is now under. In the Dáil, he rounded on Labour leader Eamon Gilmore in a manner reminiscent of his memorable attack on Gay Mitchell, and by all accounts his mood in private is also often dark these days.
It took Ned O'Keeffe's resignation of the party whip on Wednesday night to bring out the old Ahern when he said with a straight face: "To me Ned O'Keeffe epitomises all that is good about the party. I have huge regard for him. He is a good party person. I can't see him being ever other than that."
This apparent forbearance, in the face of deep provocation, is what has made Ahern such a formidable politician. His ability to keep his emotions in check and to say and do what is politically appropriate, whatever the circumstances, is what has kept him at the top for so long.
What is most striking, though, about the current political scene is that, O'Keeffe aside, Ahern is prepared to let his annoyance with political opponents shine through. In the face of slings and arrows from all directions he can't resist having a go back. That in turn feeds into the growing sense that he is a politician under siege.
One reason for the siege is that he has indicated he is going to step down at some stage during the lifetime of the current Dáil. More crucially, the continuing death by a thousand cuts at the Mahon tribunal is threatening his authority within the Government and providing his opponents outside it with the ammunition to keep sniping.
The saga of the £5,000 Padraic O'Connor payment, which ended up in Ahern's personal account, was politically damaging and excruciatingly embarrassing. In his evidence O'Connor was adamant that Ahern was not a personal friend. "I never had a pint with Mr Ahern. I never went to a football match with Mr Ahern. Those are things I would do with my friends." As a definition about what constitutes middle-aged male friendship in Ireland it was almost perfect. Yet the Taoiseach continued to protest. "I thought Padraic O'Connor was a very good friend of mine. If he has changed his mind I can't do anything about that."
The dispute about what constitutes friendship went to the heart of the matter. O'Connor is adamant he did not give £5,000 as a contribution to the personal finances of a friend but that he gave a political donation for the running of a Fianna Fáil constituency operation. Although the amount was much smaller, there were uncomfortable echoes of Charles Haughey and Pádraig Flynn and the way money intended for Fianna Fáil ended up in their personal accounts.
Yesterday Eamon Gilmore maintained that the Taoiseach's credibility and authority had been undermined by the latest evidence. "Mr Ahern's account given to Brian Dobson on RTÉ in September 2006 of the 'dig-out by friends' has been holed below the waterline by testimony given to the Mahon tribunal by Padraic O'Connor," said the Labour leader. While Ahern is growing increasingly frazzled, Cowen is moving in the opposite direction. The Rottweiler has been adopting a measured approach in the Dáil, despite fierce provocation at times from the Opposition. He displays all the hallmarks of a man preparing to assume the mantle of leadership.
On Wednesday night Cowen was the final Government speaker in the confidence debate on Minister for Health Mary Harney. Many of his own backbenchers expected a defiant, rabble rousing performance from the Tánaiste but instead he delivered a thoughtful speech and didn't rise to the barracking of the Opposition.
A feature of the debate was the constant stream of mindless interruptions from Opposition TDs who tried to howl down all the main Government speakers.
In the past Cowen would have been inclined to fight fire with fire but instead he kept his head. "Whatever our political differences, the primary responsibility of this House is to represent citizens, not resisters of change or vested interests in the health service who want to hold it back," he told hecklers in reasonable tones. Cowen took a similar approach to the handling of the order of business in the Dáil the following day. After paying tribute to the work of former Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan for originating the national cancer strategy, he again appealed to TDs to bear in mind that they were there to represent ordinary people, not interest groups or people who put forward their own particular version of events to maintain the status quo by opposing everything.
"Too often, however, the narrative is such that it does not add anything and, on occasion, takes away from the dignity of the House in the way that we conduct our debates," said Cowen as he brought a semblance of calm to the proceedings after a hurly burly week.
If Cowen is readying himself to take the reins of power, Kenny is already in the early stages of his final marathon attempt to wrest power from Fianna Fáil at the next election for the first time since 1982. There is regret in Fine Gael at the way the party failed to adequately exploit the controversy about Ahern's finances last October and again during the election campaign, and Kenny has clearly decided to take the gloves off this time round. His no-holds-barred attacks on the Taoiseach during a visit to Cork on Thursday reflected a determination to fight this one all the way.
The political benefits of hammering Ahern may be dubious, considering he will not be leading Fianna Fáil in the next election, but Kenny needs to demonstrate his ability to fight a tough battle and win. By the time the election comes around he is likely to be the only leader left from the 2007 campaign and if he does not shape up like a winner before the contest he could face an internal challenge.
He has already performed a remarkable feat in bringing Fine Gael back from the brink but he needs to show his own new breed of hungry, aggressive TDs, that he can bring them all the way next time out.