Dail Sketch/Frank McNally: While politicians in Iraq struggle to devise a workable model of democratic government, so in a way do their counterparts in Ireland. Irish TDs don't have to hold their talks in a US army tent, of course.
But even so, yesterday's debate on the Local Government Bill 2003 was marked by the sort of factional strife that wouldn't be out of place in Nassiriya.
If TDs here have anything to teach the Iraqis, it's their sheer passion for democratic politics. The Bill's proposal to abolish the dual mandate has met fierce resistance from TDs who are also local authority members, and even threats of a constitutional challenge from Fine Gael's Michael Ring. Some observers think it may take an invasion of coalition forces to oust Mr Ring from his seat on Mayo County Council.
Yesterday, however, the main pocket of resistance was provided by the Independents, led by Mildred Fox. In an otherwise angry speech, she gave a colourful illustration of why she believed the roles of TD and councillor are easily reconcilable, saying that since her council met for only six hours a month, it took up "less time than Coronation Street". Even in this casual reference to the popular soap, however, Ms Fox was clearly having a dig at Ireland's ruling Baath Party, which she and other Independents kept in power for five years, before they were written out of the script last May.
Equally bitter was Jackie Healy-Rae, who pointed out that he and the others had supported the last Government partly on the understanding that this proposal would "never surface again while we were members of this House".
But the bitterest response of all came from James Breen, the former Baath party veteran now in exile as an Independent, who wagged the finger at his erstwhile colleagues and reminded them: "I denied ye the three seats in Clare. I rocked ye to the foundations."
It was fear of popular uprisings like his, Mr Breen implied, that persuaded the Government to drop the parallel proposal for direct elections of mayors and council chairmen. He also suggested the Bill marked the beginning of the end for Bertie Ahern, because "the backbenchers will be out to get him".
But there was no sign of Government backbench resistance during yesterday's debate, and indeed, not much sign of backbenchers. Fine Gael's Bernard Allen twice demanded a quorum to embarrass the Government into producing some of its TDs to sit down and be counted.
The Taoiseach was away in Athens, the birthplace of democratic politics. So back in the cradle of democracy that is Leinster House, Mary Harney was left holding the baby during the Order of Business debate.
She escaped lightly, apart from a half-hearted Opposition rebellion against the length of the Easter recess, which began last night and stretches until May 7th (the recess, not the rebellion).
Pat Rabbitte suggested there was "absolutely no reason" the house couldn't resume on April 29th.
A voice on the Government benches disagreed, shouting "Punchestown!" Clearly, as with Iraq, Ireland's full transition to democracy has some way to go yet.