The Taoiseach sounded a little plaintive last night as he said a final farewell as President of the European Council, a chorus of praise resounding in his ears, reports Denis Staunton from Brussels.
Yesterday should have been Mr José Manuel Durão Barroso's day as the Portuguese prime minister received the unanimous backing of EU leaders in Brussels as the next president of the European Commission. No praise lavished on Mr Barroso could match the plaudits directed at the Taoiseach, however, and towards Ireland's triumphant EU presidency.
"I'd like to take my hat off to Bertie . . . Bertie has enormous capacities. He has been able to guide the Union to agreement and indeed to unanimity on issues many believed would be impossible," gushed Mr Romano Prodi.
Mr Javier Solana, just reappointed as the EU's foreign policy chief and promised the post of EU foreign minister, joined in.
"You have been the engine of everything that has happened in the past few months," he told Mr Ahern.
As the Taoiseach blushed gently, Mr Barroso offered his own assessment of the past six months.
"The Irish presidency will live in our memory as a great presidency. What a great job Bertie has done. Congratulations," he said.
How sweet it must have been for Mr Ahern to soak up the well-earned praise of his peers - and how happy a respite from the treacherous world of domestic politics. The Taoiseach's face darkened only once during the press conference, when he was asked if any impediment remained in the way of his appointing Mr Pat Cox as Ireland's next EU commissioner.
"There is no impediment to my appointing anyone as the Irish commissioner," he said.
For his part, Mr Barroso made an excellent first impression on a wary Brussels press corps, drifting easily between Portuguese and excellent English and French.
He made light of his background as the leader of a Maoist student group, explaining that, as an 18-year-old at Lisbon University, the only political choice available was between Soviet communism and Chinese communism. "I am a moderate now but I believe that I keep the same enthusiasm. I'm not ashamed of what I've done," he said.
Mr Barroso trod a careful path in outlining his vision for the EU, presenting himself as a unifying figure who would seek to reconcile the rich parts of the Union with the poor, the large states with the small and the centre with the periphery.
His finest moment came in response to a question from RTÉ's Tony Connolly, who voiced the anxiety of journalists throughout Europe about the correct form of address for the new Commission president.
Mr Barroso replied that, in view of the fact that a new pope chooses a new name, he was happy to dispense with his full title, José Manuel Durão Barroso.
He suggested that, for the sake of simplicity, newspapers should drop one of his surnames. "José Manuel Barroso - happy to meet you," he said.