Only days after the revelation that he's been taking acting lessons, the Taoiseach is already being compared with Daniel Day-Lewis.
The similarities are obvious enough. Both men are known for an ability to reinvent themselves. They both practise total immersion in their roles, whether as the Last of the Mohicans or one of the few remaining socialists. And as Pat Rabbitte suggested yesterday, Mr Ahern has now established himself as a lead contender for any remake of My Left Foot.
Although the Taoiseach's performances last week received mixed reviews ("Left? My Foot!" was a typical comment in the socialist press), nobody seriously doubts his acting skills. Asked a pointed question by the Opposition, he frequently resorts to sleep-inducing soliloquies on the Government's achievements. But like Daniel Day-Lewis playing Hamlet, there's always a method in his madness.
Improvisation is an important part of being Taoiseach, especially on Leader's Questions, when you never know what will come up. It's like Whose Line is it Anyway? with the Opposition picking a subject at random, and then demanding that you deal with it in the style of a leading expert.
Yesterday it was the dangers of radon gas, as detailed in a report by the Radiological Protection Institute. The problem affects 100,000 houses, Mr Rabbitte said, and Wicklow was one of many "hot spots". So much so that the aforementioned film star was rumoured to be fleeing Ireland because of it.
After some urgent conferring with gas expert Martin Cullen, who was sitting nearby, the Taoiseach began his reply in the style of Joxer "What is the stars?" Daly. He agreed that radon was a serious issue. But with the Dublin wit made famous by O'Casey, he quipped that the only fleeing stars he knew of were fleeing into Ireland because of the tax breaks.
Meanwhile, in the same week that Ryanair portrayed him as a Rodin sculpture - if it's not radon, it's Rodin - for his alleged dithering, the Taoiseach found himself accused of indecent haste in bringing the Health Bill before the house.
It was only received by TDs yesterday and was due for debate today. But when the Government decided it required emergency treatment and pushed its trolley straight into last night's schedule, the Opposition reacted like hard-pressed A & E staff, with head nurse Liz McManus leading the protests.
Mr Ahern suggested coolly that as her party's health spokeswoman, Ms McManus received the Bill early last week and should have briefed her colleagues. The Labour TD could not have been any angrier if he'd said: "Frailty, thy name is woman." But her protests were in vain, and after winning a vote on the Order of Business, the thespian Taoiseach exited, stage left.