well it doesnt suprise in the least,his personal affairs have continued to dominate our poltical scene for quite some time,i would say Cowen will step up into limelight now

Ni heolas go haontios - There is no knowledge without unity

Not that I was a great fan of Bertie (although there is something to be said for a man who so reliably sat at the same bar day in day out ..you always knew where to find him)...but you have to admit he did a few strong things for the good: he united the warring Reynolds and Haughey factions when he assumed leadership of FF ; the FF enjoyed three successive General Election victories thanks in good part to Bertie; near to my heart, Bertie played a significant role in the Good Friday Agreement and what followed...(although I still throw up in my mouth at the sight of Paisley shaking hands with McGinness...I hope Martin had enough soap to wash off all that crud left by that old hate monge) ; and you might say he had a role in the Celtic Tiger... of course the Rainbow Government's decision to introduce a 12.5% Corporation Tax rate also contributed enormously ...and he successfully assembled coalition governments with the Greens and PDs . So the old boyo wasn't all that bad...I mean it's not like he was a George Bush by any shakes.

You can kill the revolutionary but you can not kill the revolution

Crionnacht ...so you think Cowen will be up to the job? Ahern may be getting out at the right time. After a the long boom the economy is likely to grow at the slowest pace in almost 20 years. House prices have already fallen 8.8 percent in the last 12 months ... homebuilding is dropping off at an even greater pace....and the unemployment reate is at an eight-year high of 5.2 percent in February. It was bound to happen (and a good thing too if the yuppies run out of euros to build those boxes that are scarring the land in Donegal)

You can kill the revolutionary but you can not kill the revolution

I dont know if Cowen would be the right man for the job.. a lot of people have called Bertie a gangster after the mahon tribunal but what about Cowen covering uop for his brother evading a tax bill of 1 million euro
It would be like out of the frying pan and into the fire !!!
If you ask me all politicians will promise u the world till they get into office then it goes out the window.
One thing for sure is we will all still have to work for what we get.. the cost of lving will continue to rise and someone had kidnapped that bloody celtic tiger

im no fan of fiana fail so personally i dont think any of them are up for it:)

Ni heolas go haontios - There is no knowledge without unity