FRENCH MINISTER for finance Christine Lagarde has described Brian Lenihan as “heroic” and a political figure to whom history will be kind.
She said the former minister for finance, who died on Friday from pancreatic cancer, was “calm, solid and very analytical when we had major issues”.
Ms Lagarde, who is a strong candidate to become the next head of the International Monetary Fund, said that since the beginning of the economic crisis, all ministers for finance had tough jobs and tough decisions to make.
“He was as good as you can think,” she added. “He was extremely good for the country.”
Mr Lenihan’s remains will repose at Jennings funeral home, Blanchardstown, Dublin, from 10am today, before removal to St Mochta’s Church, Porterstown, arriving at 6pm.
He will be buried tomorrow in a private ceremony in St David’s Church graveyard, Kilsallaghan, after 11am Mass.
Interviewed on the RTÉ Radio programme This Week yesterday, Ms Lagarde said she was saddened by the news of his death and her thoughts were with his family.
“I cannot think of anybody who did not like Brian,” she added.
She said she had worked with Mr Lenihan from the time he was appointed minister for finance.
“We went through one rescue package after the other, one financial stability fund after the other, and he was always a very good companion,” she added.
They spoke in English and French because Mr Lenihan was a very good French speaker. “He liked France and I like Ireland, so we often shared views,” she added.
Mr Lenihan, she said, kept coming to meetings from the day he had announced he was suffering from cancer. “Sometimes he looked a little fragile and a little bit frail, but it did not ever stop him making the point and arguing his case and defending Ireland,” said Ms Lagarde.
She had sometimes wondered how he was holding up because he had lost a lot of weight.
“Until the very last day, he was on board,” she said.
Ms Lagarde said it was “a bit of a shock” when Mr Lenihan rang her in September 2008 to tell her about the bank guarantee.
It was in the early morning, she was still at home, and Mr Lenihan told her he had no option but to do what he was doing.
“I immediately thought, oh my gosh, this is going to be a major issue to address and to deal with, because clearly other countries around are going to suffer from that and we are going to have to react collectively,” she added. “Again, he was extremely honest, open and blunt about it.”
Asked if Mr Lenihan had made the right decision at the time, Ms Lagarde said it was not the day to discuss those matters. “At the moment, it is all about sadness and grief and prayers, essentially,” she said.
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said yesterday that Mr Lenihan had a great capacity to absorb detail and an ability to understand the most complicated issues “and to communicate them effectively in a way which the rest of us would deeply envy. He will be sorely missed because he brought a freshness to political debate. He encouraged it in a way that many would shrink from”.
A book of condolence will be opened for Mr Lenihan today at Government Buildings, Merrion Street, Dublin, from 9am to 6pm.