For the past year or so, Bertie Ahern has been positioning himself for a return to Fianna Fáil. Lifting his profile through interviews and public appearances, it was clear the former taoiseach missed the political limelight. Matters came to a head this week when, in a contrived exercise, he was invited by supporters in the Dublin Central constituency to reapply for membership. This was seen as a challenge to Micheál Martin’s authority and caused consternation within Fianna Fáil.
In a placatory move, Mr Ahern explained he would like to rejoin Fianna Fáil but had no ambition to return to the Dáil or seek a presidential nomination. All he wanted was to help the party recover seats it had lost in Dublin Central and in Dublin North where his brother Noel was a candidate. It didn’t mollify Mr Martin.
He could recognise potential dangers when he saw them. Nothing had changed in four years, the Corkman insisted, and he did not anticipate Mr Ahern returning to the party.
For people like the former taoiseach and committed supporters – who appear to have faulty memories – it is worth recalling the events that forced him out of Fianna Fáil in 2012. Following 15 years of investigation into corruption in the Dublin planning process at a cost of €158 million, the Flood/Mahon tribunal found in its final report that Mr Ahern had not “truthfully” accounted for lodgements exceeding €165,000 made in his favour.
It identified corrupt or irregular payments to five other Fianna Fáil politicians, including former minister and EU Commissioner Pádraig Flynn who had “wrongly and corruptly” received a payment of €50,000.
The timing could not have been worse for Micheál Martin. Having replaced Brian Cowen as party leader following the IMF/EU bailout and presided over a general election in which Fianna Fáil lost 58 Dáil seats, Mr Martin’s leadership was under threat and the future of Fianna Fáil was in doubt. Under pressure from a resurgent Sinn Féin, he attempted to close the door on Fianna Fáil’s grubby relationship with the construction industry.
Ethical standards were strengthened within the party. Declaring that “words are not enough” in response to the tribunal findings, he announced that all six party members would be expelled. It was a defining moment. Before motions could be voted on by the national executive, they resigned.
In its report, the tribunal found that inadequate disciplinary processes in Fianna Fáil had allowed individuals to operate “with a justified sense of impunity and invincibility”. It would appear that such a sense of entitlement and invincibility persists in some quarters.
Mr Ahern’s influence and political integrity were shattered during the tribunal hearings. His return would do nothing for politics. But it would add to public cynicism.