BRIAN COWEN appeared uncomfortable as the tributes flowed before and after his election as Taoiseach.
Head sometimes bowed, he looked as if he wanted it all to end as soon as possible. Bertie Ahern looked tired, emotionally drained, even sad at times.
Both men allowed themselves a laugh at the jokes made, and then reverted to near-funereal expressions.
For Ahern, it was the end of a long goodbye. For Cowen, it was the culmination of a long lead-in to his election to the top job.
Cowen’s voice cracked with emotion when he referred to his family, including his late father, Ber, whose death in 1984 caused the byelection which put him in the Dáil. Speaking in Irish and English, he outlined his vision of society, warning against “the rising tendency towards individualism” and the pursuit of “exclusive self-interest”.
Perhaps Cowen, the staunch party loyalist, was also sending a coded political message to his colleagues.
The House went through the usual ritual in the election of the Taoiseach. Cowen was proposed by Ahern and seconded by the Greens’ John Gormley, who spoke about him in glowing terms.
Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore were also nominated.
As deputies made their way up the stairs of the chamber for the vote, Fine Gael’s Ulick Burke spoke with Ahern. In the “Tá” lobby, Ahern was greeted by his loyal backbencher and former adviser, Dr Martin Mansergh.
Ahern shook hands with Beverley Flynn, recently returned to the Fianna Fáil fold, while a one-time bitter Ahern foe, Donegal’s Dr Jim McDaid, buried old political enmities when he shook hands with a clearly pleased Ahern.
When Cowen was elected, he took over the seat on the Government benches occupied by Ahern since 1997.
Ahern retreated to the back benches, next to Johnny Brady and Charlie O’Connor, where he first sat as a new TD 31 years ago.
Earlier, Ahern’s constituency colleague, Independent Tony Gregory, paid tribute to his old rival. Ahern nodded in thanks.
Fellow Independent Jackie Healy-Rae also paid tribute to Ahern. “One thing is certain: nobody will have to ask his name when he goes on journeys,” he said. In an apparent reference to Ceann Comhairle John O’Donoghue, Healy-Rae expressed the hope that Cowen would “take his coat off, so he will have nothing but his shirt, and come down to south Kerry to help me with potholes”.
Then, it was off to the Áras for Brian Cowen to receive his seal of office. Ahern slipped quietly out.
The Cowen era had begun in earnest.