On the Scene

I HAVE been watching the Dail, the lower house of the Irish parliament, on and off for more than fifty years now, and I have never before seen in those precincts such an effusion of sweetness and light as accompanied the election as prime minister (Taoiseach) of John Bruton, head of the Fine Gael party. Partly this was due to the general relief at the ending of the parliamentary crisis that had been going on for more than a month—ever since the former ruling coalition broke up over the attorney general’s protecting from extradition a priest wanted in Northern Ireland on charges of pedophilia. Even for the naturally acrimonious, a month of sustained confrontation was enough. Partly the tone was set, with magnanimity, by the loser: Bertie Ahern, the new leader of Fianna Fail, who had been expected to be prime minister in a renewed Fianna Fail-Labour coalition. John Bruton led the opposition in exposing the anomalies and contradictions of the relations between Fianna Fail and Labour, and this contributed mightily to wrecking the attempt at renewing that coalition—and thus to dashing Bertie Ahern’s personal hopes.

In the circumstances Mr. Ahern might have been expected to be bitter, but if he is he didn’t let it show. In an exceptionally dignified, generous, and sometimes gently humorous speech, he not merely wished his successful rival well, in a convincing way, but also paid tribute to his personal qualities. And those qualities are indeed high among the reasons why his election by the Dáil was welcomed personally by members from all the parties represented there.

CO

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Conor Cruise O'Brien

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I HAVE been watching the Dail, the lower house of the Irish parliament, on and off for more than fifty years now, and I have never before seen in those precincts such an effusion of sweetness and light as accompanied the election as prime minister (Taoiseach) of John Bruton, head of the Fine Gael party. Partly this was due to the general relief at the ending of the parliamentary crisis that had been going on for more than a month—ever since the former ruling coalition broke up over the attorney general’s protecting from extradition a priest wanted in Northern Ireland on charges of pedophilia. Even for the naturally acrimonious, a month of sustained confrontation was enough. Partly the tone was set, with magnanimity, by the loser: Bertie Ahern, the new leader of Fianna Fail, who had been expected to be prime minister in a renewed Fianna Fail-Labour coalition. John Bruton led the opposition in exposing the anomalies and contradictions of the relations between Fianna Fail and Labour, and this contributed mightily to wrecking the attempt at renewing that coalition—and thus to dashing Bertie Ahern’s personal hopes.

In the circumstances Mr. Ahern might have been expected to be bitter, but if he is he didn’t let it show. In an exceptionally dignified, generous, and sometimes gently humorous speech, he not merely wished his successful rival well, in a convincing way, but also paid tribute to his personal qualities. And those qualities are indeed high among the reasons why his election by the Dáil was welcomed personally by members from all the parties represented there.