IT HAD TO be this way and Bertie Ahern, the master of pragmatic politics, knew it. He could not have stayed on as Taoiseach for much longer without causing irreparable damage to his legacy, his party, the Coalition Government and the country. He has made the right decision for himself and the country to name an early date for his resignation as Taoiseach. And it is a measure of the political substance of the man that, through the manner of his leaving, he has partially redeemed his reputation rather than hanging on to be hunted out of office. He will have a well-deserved month-long lap of honour.
There will be other days to do a detailed assessment of Mr Ahern's contribution to Irish public life over the past 30 years. Suffice to say that he was a very good Taoiseach for almost 11 of the most progressive years - socially, politically and economically - in the modern history of this State. Unlike others, he can genuinely claim that he did the State some service. He won the admiration of the people for historic achievements in office. What's more, there was an affection for his affability, his ordinariness, his common touch.
But he, more than anyone else, knew that his legacy, the authority of his Government, his standing among his supporters, and the affinity which he enjoyed with the people, came close to being lost forever in recent weeks. Something snapped. He must have known, being the consummate politician that he is, that all the ducking and diving, the waffling and weaving, had come to an end. There was an irreparable breach of trust and it was all of his own making.
Mr Ahern had to resign as Taoiseach because all of the political mantras which he constructed for senior colleagues were shattering all around him. The day had arrived when it didn't matter whether or not the Mahon tribunal could prove the allegation by Tom Gilmartin that property developer Owen O'Callaghan had paid £80,000 to Mr Ahern. The substantial sums of money which Mr Ahern received from other sources for other reasons over a continuous period in his political career had become the dominant issue. A finding from the Mahon tribunal could not, and would not, clear his name.
He also had to resign because of the position in which he placed his former constituency secretary, Gráinne Carruth, at the Mahon tribunal. The real political issue was not the way in which he tested her loyalty; nor the way in which this woman came close to tears, on his behalf, in the witness box. There is no credible explanation for her acknowledgment on oath that she had, on the balance of probabilities, lodged sterling money into his building society account when he had said that he lodged his Paymaster General's salary.
Some say that this is a sad day for Irish politics. It is personally for Mr Ahern. The decisive and dignified announcement of his departure, however, will have a restorative effect on political standards. For that alone, Mr Ahern must be given due respect and credit on this day.