Bertie this time next year

jerryp

Where do you think he will be ?

AckwelFoley

He will be 12 months older, and still the Leader of this great Nation.

Go Bertie!

partholon

if things keep coming out at the tribunals like they are now he'll be gone from Fianna Fail.........and be president of europe if they pass lisbon.


after all its not like the people vote for that position

jahalpin

I think he'll still be Taoseach this time next year.

He's been a good leader and has helped make this country the success that it is.

When he retires in a few years time, he'll probably retire to the Aras.

He has done a lot for this country and deserves to be given the respect that the postion of Taoseach deserves,

PS: Do we really want Biffo as Taoseach?

AckwelFoley

jahalpin wrote: »

PS: Do we really want Biffo as Taoseach?

He'd be my choice. Very compident politician

guinnessdrinker

jahalpin wrote: »

PS: Do we really want Biffo as Taoseach?

I don't think we do want Biffo. He's not the worst but if we were to have another FF Taoiseach I suppose we could do worse than Dermot Ahearn.

AckwelFoley

guinnessdrinker wrote: »

I don't think we do want Biffo. He's not the worst but if we were to have another FF Taoiseach I suppose we could do worse than Dermot Ahearn.

He'd be my second choice and is probably second favourite after Brian

guinnessdrinker

Who else would be in the running for it? I think I heard Eamon O Cuiv saying he wouldn't mind the job one time. Maybe we should do a poll.

partholon

jahalpin wrote: »

PS: Do we really want Biffo as Taoseach?

he's a bit of a prick though. dont mean that in a bad way, i just mean no matter what ya think about bertie hes likable. not many would feel the same about the biff.

in regards to who else is up for the job ive heard rumblings that the moustache himself, willie o dea, fancies a shot. also marys o has been angling to get brian lenihan into the taniste job after bert goes. at least that the rumour im hearing. so if crap comes on on the biff (remember he's to go up in front of the tribunals too) i could see him being put forward.

fun times ahead

Rebeller

snyper wrote: »

He'd be my choice. Very compident politician

Let's hope he's a bit better at spelling:D

AckwelFoley

Rebeller wrote: »

Let's hope he's a bit better at spelling:D

Ba boom.

Hilarious

Riddle101

If the Government keeps getting hasle then i'd say Bertie will most likely step down and take a job in Business as he said a few years ago

Breezer

Hopefully he will be neither Taoiseach nor president of anything. I don't consider the man likeable in the slightest; in fact I cannot stand him. I respect the work he did in Northern Ireland, he was the right man in the right place at the right time for that particular job, but I feel he and his party have done far more damage to this country than good.

Who would I like as Taoiseach instead? I think my signature makes that perfectly obvious. Realistically though, I could put up with Biffo for a few years. I don't like him at all, although on some level I find him more palatable than Berite: at least he's upfront in his arrogance, none of this pretending to be 'one of the lads.' A better choice than Dermot Ahern, who has publicly stated that Charles Haughey wasn't corrupt, definitely better than Willie O'Dea and (God help us) Noel Dempsey, who apparently wouldn't mind being Taoiseach some day.

But all of that is irrelevant, because I believe Bertie will still be Taoiseach this time next year. He has the support of the Green Party, who are on a mission in Government and therefore won't do anything to upset the apple cart, Harney, who is virtually guaranteed the Health post for as long as Bertie is Taoiseach, and Fianna Fáil, who I think will only want him out coming up to 2012 in order to pin all the faults of the last decade on the 'Bertie era' and present a fresh face for the general election.

Mr.Micro

Mr.Ahern will be in the US again for Paddy's day, abroad with all the other Ministers who exodus Ireland like lemmings around this time. The country might be a little poorer if the ESRI prediction is to be believed but Mr. Ahern will be in office still IMO. I do not think Mr. Cowan is up to the job as his successor, I do not think he is as slick politically as Mr. Ahern.

is_that_so

I suspect that circumstances may play against him and he'll decide to cool his heels elsewhere, at a time none of us can guess at. The one thing that has been slipping and will continue to slip imo is his popularity, although I can't see him plumbing Bush-like levels.

Given our downturn one might also expect a lower level of confidence in FF. Even so with FG and Labour being so abysmal at present in hitting the government on it with their Bertie fixation, I doubt they'll gain a lot out of it.

As to his successor, Biffo looks like the anointed one. Dermot Ahern has gone backwards in recent times in my estimation. Most of the others would almost guarantee a FF election loss. But I'd like to see Hannafin come out of the bunch or even young Brian Lenihan, although he is such a loyalist that would never happen.

Tea drinker

Bertie Ahern tipped for EU presidency
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/bertie-ahern-tipped-for-eu-presidency-791344.html?r=RSS

Of course, he has to be compensated for ramming the Lisbon treaty up our arse! I wonder do the eurocrats know how big a raise he usually gets??

HydeRoad

jahalpin wrote: »

I think he'll still be Taoseach this time next year.

He's been a good leader and has helped make this country the success that it is.

When he retires in a few years time, he'll probably retire to the Aras.

He has done a lot for this country and deserves to be given the respect that the postion of Taoseach deserves...

This good leader SQUANDERED a large helping of this country's boom years, filling the pockets of developers, ruining standards of living for hundreds of ordinary householders for years to come, and stagnating infrastructural development in the one period in history when we had a few bob to do things.

This good leader PROMOTED stained people to positions of influence, stained people who went on to broker corrupt deals, compromise the integrity of government, foment public apathy, and eventually end up un JAIL for their efforts, despite the best efforts of our good leader to protect them.

This good leader POCKETED large sums of questionable cash from questionable people, then writhed and squirmed and bled crocodile tears, on television and in tribunal, in a bid to hide, and cajole, and finally threaten, those who would out him as the unscrupulous and incredible pretender that he is.

This good leader has COMPROMISED the credibility, not just of himself and his golden circle, but of all politicians, good and otherwise, for many years to come. While the stain of Charlie would eventually have been washed through, the double-whammy of Bertie coming straight down the line behind, will leave a foul torpor that will stagnate political will and public support for far longer than is healthy for the progress of this country.

In ten years time, I don't care if the man sees hell up close and personal, but perhaps a few years in peaceful reflection would make him see the real values of this world. Somehow I doubt it.

Jesus Wept

partholon wrote: »

no matter what ya think about bertie hes likable.

I don't like him.

Mr.Micro

Originally Posted by partholon View Post
no matter what ya think about bertie hes likable.

He sure likes himself as well.:D

Akrasia

partholon wrote: »

he's a bit of a prick though. dont mean that in a bad way, i just mean no matter what ya think about bertie hes likable. not many would feel the same about the biff.

in regards to who else is up for the job ive heard rumblings that the moustache himself, willie o dea, fancies a shot. also marys o has been angling to get brian lenihan into the taniste job after bert goes. at least that the rumour im hearing. so if crap comes on on the biff (remember he's to go up in front of the tribunals too) i could see him being put forward.

fun times ahead

He used to be likable, but it's very hard to keep liking someone when he's trying to make a fool of you.

Liam Byrne

Well, you've got to say one thing about Bertie......he at least manages to show up at the tribunal and not pretend to be sick, only to show up on a golf course / riding a horse or whatever the week after.....unlike some similar money-grabbing FF Taoisigh...

But hopefully he'll be rotting in jail or working McDonald's on minimum wage after he's paid back all the taxes that he should've paid....then he'll see what his crowd have turned this country into.

Failing that, maybe we could get him a job inspecting U.S. planes (oh, sorry, we don't do that) or maybe checking in Aer Lingus passengers at Shannon (oh, sorry, we don't do that either) or walking the streets of Dublin at night as part of a community alert group (nope, can't do that either) or maybe a job explaining to sick people why they've been waiting in A&E for 12 hours.....any of those would be poetic justice

Lying scumbag!

And before anyone starts saying - like the blinkered Clare FF PRO on Clare FM this morning - that we can't say he's a liar until the tribunal reaches its conclusions......YES WE CAN, because he has "explained" some of the payments 3 different ways, so therefore [AT LEAST] two of those were lies.

Plus he was involved - WHILE WE WERE PAYING HIM AS MINISTER FOR FINANCE - in loads of financial transactions that there is no record of and no explanation for.

However "guilty" OR OTHERWISE he might be in the area of the tribunal's investigation - planning corruption - he's definitely guilty of taking money from someone/somewhere, not paying tax on it, and lying about it. But FFers seem to want to imply that the ONLY crime is if this is all related to the planning issues.....as if (for example) the tribunal were looking into selling drugs and it turned out that he'd robbed a bank......the tribunal could find whatever it needs to in relation to the drugs - guilty or otherwise, but robbing the bank - and lying about it - would still be wrong and unacceptable. Period.

And add to that the fact that he's presided over squandering money (ours, not his) left right and centre on stuff like e-voting machines, failed us on the Aer Lingus issue, ignored us on the Shannon issues, let the cost of living double to the point where Ireland is no longer competitive, given jobs to people "not because of payments, but because they were [his] friends" [ALMOST EXACT QUOTE FROM THE MAN HIMSELF!!!], and a whole host of other dodgy practices, he's proved himself to be - at best - deceitful, inept and a liability [at worst a corrupt politician, but he's innocent until proven guilty]

Sorry - even if there were absolutely no paper trail, if someone gave me €30,000 twenty years ago (when that would have been half the price of a house) I'd remember who and when !!!!!

But yeah, he'll probably get some plum job in the EU......and people wonder why the public don't have faith in politics or politicians anymore........

Fianna Failure make the Italian political system seem transparent......

guinnessdrinker

HydeRoad wrote: »

This good leader has COMPROMISED the credibility, not just of himself and his golden circle, but of all politicians, good and otherwise, for many years to come. While the stain of Charlie would eventually have been washed through, the double-whammy of Bertie coming straight down the line behind, will leave a foul torpor that will stagnate political will and public support for far longer than is healthy for the progress of this country.

This is one something I would be annoyed about if I was a politician. Recently I have heard a lot of people when talking about Bertie saying things like "well aren't they all at it". I really do believe that not all politicians are "at it" and if I was one of those honest politicans I'd be very pissed off that this is how the public are now thinking. He has tainted FF as a party also, whenever I think of sleaze in politics, FF now springs to mind immeadiatly, I hate to say that. Why his fellow TD's are allowing this I don't know. His successor is going to be tainted by all of this too, there is no getting away from it.

Liam Byrne wrote: »

But yeah, he'll probably get some plum job in the EU......and people wonder why the public don't have faith in politics or politicians anymore........

In fairness to the EU, I'm not sure they would want him.

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Fianna Failure make the Italian political system seem transparent......

Are the Italians now laughing at us? Probably.

Fratton Fred

Bertie's not going anywhere until the payrise comes through. When he gets that he will be off and start missing tribunal hearings as well.

This is getting beyond a joke now, everyday there is more money coming out of the woodwork, to Bertie, Celia Larkin or to Bertie's daughters. The big issue I have, is this lack of accountability rubs off on the whole government and noone appears to be accountable for anything.

Proportional representation needs scrapping so that the smaller parties don't need to kiss FFs arse in the hope of getting into a coalition, then we need a change of government, this one has become stale and drunk with power.

gordon_gekko

snyper wrote: »

He'd be my choice. Very compident politician

just because biffo is dour and grumpy doesnt mean hes competant

he was the one who put the kibosh on the property market , out of pure stuborness he delayed reforming stamp duty for a full yr and all because it was michael mc dowell who 1st suggested that it should be reformed , the smallness of the man shown through in how he didnt move on this issue for fear of the pd,s getting the credit

the only ones in the goverment i really like are dermot aherne and brian lenehan
i used to like willie o dea untill the aer lingus thingy, didnt like the way he got on board with the locals who objected to it moving to belfast , very cynical small town parish pump politics

Mr.Micro

Any chance of me getting a few bob from Fianna Fail, do'nt mind what currency or what denominations. They can call it humanitarian. Any chance?

Liam Byrne

gordon_gekko wrote: »

i used to like willie o dea untill the aer lingus thingy, didnt like the way he got on board with the locals who objected to it moving to belfast , very cynical small town parish pump politics

Oh yeah, good old Willie supporting the local cause and representing the area that he's elected to represent......can't see how you'd object to that ?

If AL had suggested moving Dublin's slots to Belfast (which, remember, is technically in another country), you can be damn sure that there would have been outrage and Government action......

Of course, in Shannon's case it was all just words and a typical FF show/con - no actual action performed, just useless words, coz he didn't actually DO anything and jumped "off-board" pretty quickly......

"Well, yes, we did remain shareholders so that we would have a say, but no, we don't have a say after all....well, we kinda do but we're not going to use it". Sounds as disjointed and ridiculous as Bertie's patronising u-turns......

I'll tell you one thing, Willie (and his FF cohorts in Co Clare) can say good luck to their seats next time; I used to have time for him until this betrayal....in fact, I reckon they took an example from this week 2,000-odd years ago......

gordon_gekko

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Oh yeah, good old Willie supporting the local cause and representing the area that he's elected to represent......can't see how you'd object to that ?

If AL had suggested moving Dublin's slots to Belfast (which, remember, is technically in another country), you can be damn sure that there would have been outrage and Government action......

Of course, in Shannon's case it was all just words and a typical FF show/con - no actual action performed, just useless words, coz he didn't actually DO anything and jumped "off-board" pretty quickly......

"Well, yes, we did remain shareholders so that we would have a say, but no, we don't have a say after all....well, we kinda do but we're not going to use it". Sounds as disjointed and ridiculous as Bertie's patronising u-turns......

I'll tell you one thing, Willie (and his FF cohorts in Co Clare) can say good luck to their seats next time; I used to have time for him until this betrayal....in fact, I reckon they took an example from this week 2,000-odd years ago......

moving to belfast was just as much about politics ( the peace process , cross border trade etc) as it was business
you can still fly out of shannon to london , just not to heathrow

as usual it wasa vocal minority who were up in arms
willie went again the minister so as to ensure he gets another 19000 votes next time round , it was small but very FF

oscarBravo

Polite note: please read the thread title before replying.

SeanW

I voted for change in the last election. But no, we as a people kept the same pack of two faced gob****es in for another 5 years, for more of the same. I haven't been following the tribunal cause it doesn't matter, Bertie could be found to have been taking money from the Mafia and beating up old ladies, but I think people would still support him.

Bottom line, he's still going to be here next year, and the year after, and the year after that.

El Stuntman

well one things for sure; Ahern's (carefully cultivated) image as 'an ordinary guy with no interest in money' has been well and truly blown at this stage

he took money from all comers

God only knows what he gave out for it

sickening

Clytus

TBH...I feel Bertie should be sharpening his sword,and preparing himself to take a fall on it.

Whats emerging is very worrying indeed. I always supported Bertie and used to think he was one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had...but the things coming out in the tribunal at the moment are very disapointing.

What he's claiming is just so utterly bizare that I just cant help feeling he is lying to the Nation and taking us all for fools.

Very very dissapointing!!!!:mad:

Liam Byrne

gordon_gekko wrote: »

moving to belfast was just as much about politics ( the peace process , cross border trade etc) as it was business

That actually makes it worse :mad:. A business decision is fair enough, and the issue would ONLY have been that a major shareholder let us down when it came to the crunch.

But if it was a political decision, they were instrumental in creating the crunch and then lied and pretended it was nothing to do with them.

That said, it's a reflection of how Bertie and FF operate; if something goes well - peace process or the economy a few years back - then they're responsible; but if there's f__k-ups, no-one's responsible and there's "nothing they can do".

Ironically, I'd almost like to see Bertie and FF stay in power at this stage; they squandered the boom and it probably suits them if FG or Labour get in now because they (FF) can pass on the blame to them.

Let FF and Bertie stay in power, let people start to smell the coffee and bull****, and let people see what they're really like. The Greens were seen to sell out from week one, and FF are now backing Bertie......don't ya just LOVE Ireland !!!!!

keen

The-Rigger wrote: »

I don't like him.

Either do I.

Hopefully he will be out of goverment in 12 months and a more competent leader will be in place.