There can be no doubt this year about the country's premier political award, Drapier's Politician of the Year. The year just ended did not start well for Bertie Ahern. He had some bad moments, and there were times when he infuriated or exasperated his friends almost more then he did his opponents.
But by the year's end he was in the commanding position, secure in power, in control of his Government and party, riding as high in the polls as it is possible to go, showing the opposition a clean pair of heels, and the PDs as tame as the proverbial pussycats.
Bertie Ahern is around a long time and he, as much as anyone in here, knows that when things look at their best, when a cloudless sky beckons and an effortless future seems assured, that is the time to be most wary.
In truth, Drapier sees no major pitfalls ahead. If the current polls are even half accurate then the two by-elections should fall easily enough into Bertie's lap. The economy is set to continue its extraordinary growth, and even if the Northern talks falter, nobody is likely to put too much blame on the Government. But Bertie could also recall that the cohesion this Government is now showing took its time in coming.
The events before and after Ray Burke's resignation and the botched attempt of Albert Reyn- olds to secure a presidential nomination were deeply unsettling, and it showed in the Government's early performance.
It was the presidential election that rescued Bertie Ahern and his Government, proving once again that a combination of nationalism and Catholicism is well nigh unbeatable, no matter how much people prattle on about this being post-nationalist, post-Catholic Ireland.
Bertie Ahern's accolade of Politician of the Year is well merited, and Drapier looks forward to a quiet pint of Smithwicks - there's still no Bass in the Leinster House bar - in celebration. In this, as in other matters, modesty is all. It was a year of anniversaries, and Drapier is going to divert briefly to nominate what for him were the two outstanding political books of the year.
Brian Maye's biography of Arthur Griffith put real life into that great patriot, took away his icon status and showed him as an authentic human being. John Horgan's life of Sean Lemass is superbly objective and a genuine monument to one of our two great prime ministers. These two books should be on every politican's shelf.
Next, the front benches. Two Ministers in the new Government impress him in particular: Michael Martin for the quietly effective way he gets on with his job, and Brian Cowen for his skilful and sensitive, and very politically aware, handling of explosive issues. A shared award.
On the opposition benches the new Labour team has yet to find its feet, though Ruairi Quinn has started well. Drapier has no worries about Ruairi: it's the depth of support behind him that raises questions. The coming year will tell a lot.
Most of the Fine Gael former ministers showed that sluggishness that is an inevitable part of losing office, though in Drapier's view it was less prevalent this time than in 1987, and far less than in the shell-shocked survivors of Bertie Ahern's team after the 1994 loss of office.
Drapier's award for the best opposition spokesman is won by John Bruton. He has a strong parliamentary presence, indeed a sense of parliament rare enough these days. Maybe it is part of the Redmond tradition but, be that as it may, John Bruton on form can be a formidable parliamentary opponent and he was on form more often than not these past few months. Off form can be a different matter.
When it comes to the backbencher of the year award, Drapier was in a real quandary. Jackie Healy Rae has a good case. Not only is he colourful, he is also very astute and will use his pivotal position to deliver for South Kerry. But it is still early days and for that reason Jackie must wait his turn.
In fact, Drapier did not have to look very far for his backbencher of the year, Dessie O'Malley. Not just is he the only surviving PD backbencher, he is likely to have more influence on this Government than most of the other backbenchers of all parties combined and he has already put down a number of characteristic O'Malley markers which may prove less than comfortable, inconvenient even, for the Government in the months ahead.
With Dessie one thing is certain, no government can afford to relax. The June general election brought in a very interesting new bunch of TDs, but it is too early yet to be handing out any awards. They don't come that handy, and it is bad for the ego to be handing out awards too early on but, for what it is worth, there are a few who caught Drapier's eye whom he sees as being around for the long haul.
On the Fianna Fail side he likes the cut of young Michael Moynihan and John Moloney and he feels very strongly that G.V. Wright (in Drapier's view one of the most decent men in the House) could, if given a break, perform very well indeed.
On the opposition side Drapier sees real potential in Billy Timmons, while Brian Hayes, still in his 20s, is already almost a senior statesman. None of the other parties, PDs or DL or indeed Labour, had any newcomers, thereby restricting Drapier's choice in this matter.
In the Seanad it was a strange year. The minority situation of John Bruton's government, which could have caused great difficulties for that government, was handled skilfully, and by year's end we were back to the familiar situation of a comfortable Government majority, thereby making for a greater degree of certainty but seriously lessening the news value and the real impact of the Seanad. In Drapier's view this is one institution that does seriously need to look at restructuring itself.
Drapier has no doubt about the destination of the Golden Toga Award this year. It goes to Mary Henry and in particular for the integrity of her contributions during the hepatitis C controversy. When others, who should have known better, were scaremongering and rabble-rousing, Mary Henry stuck rigidly to the known facts. Her contributions at that time, informed by medical expertise and humanity, were outstanding. Drapier concludes by wishing all his readers a very Happy New Year. In spite of whispers to the contrary there will not be a general election in 1998, nor should there be.
If Bertie has any temptations in this direction he should ponder carefully the fate of Charles Haughey in 1989, when he submitted to the blandishments of Ray Burke and Padraig Flynn, called an unnecessary election and ended up worse off then before.
Nor will there be local elections in 1998, and in Drapier's view that is a shame, if not even a little bit of a scandal. Our local authorities do need renewal, and all parties need an influx of new potential candidates. However, more of that later.