The Isle of Man Chief Minister is one of a growing number of political figures who have paid tributes to retiring Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.

The Manx Chief Minister, Tony Brown, described Ahern as a 'quiet man and a real gentleman'. He also bizarrely referred to him as a good friend to the Isle of Man, although what evidence there is of this in unclear.

What is clear is that others closer to the 'political crucible' of Irish politics are not so effusive about Bertie Ahern and some of his Fianna Fail colleagues.

The leader of Ireland's main opposition party Fine Gael, Enda Kenny, said that all of Ahern's deputies were tainted by his unbelievable testimony to the tribunal since September. Kenny called for an immediate general election.

Enda Kenny said the entire Fianna Fail administration, including Ahern's heir apparent, Deputy Prime Minister Brian Cowen, was complicit in Ahern's campaign of deceit.

"Not one of them confronted him. Not one of them disowned him. Not one of them were prepared to say that taking large sums of money was wrong, that it was wrong for [Ahern] not to pay his taxes, that it was wrong to use Fianna Fail money for private use," Kenny said.

Ahern has seen his popularity plummet as he has struggled to explain coherently his tangled financial history to an increasingly sceptical Irish public.

Associating the Manx public even in the most marginal way with the life and troubles of the outgoing Taoiseach may yet come back to haunt the Manx Chief Minister.

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

03/04/08