Emboldened by the peace marches and the latest report of the arms inspectors, the Opposition yesterday revived its flagging campaign to find out where the Taoiseach stands on a unilateral US war.
"His moment of truth has arrived," Enda Kenny announced to the Dáil, in an example of the naive optimism that mass peace movements inspire: "Can I suggest he remove himself from his traditional comfort zone - the fence?"
Mr Kenny won the Fine Gael leadership promising to electrify his party (the wiring continues). Yesterday, he was concentrating on his attempts to electrify the fence on which the Taoiseach sat. But insulated by a copy of resolution 1441 and the collected speeches of Kofi Annan, Bertie Ahern didn't feel a thing.
Not even the huge march in Dublin - a variation of the 100,000 welcomes traditionally offered to visiting US planes - had worried Mr Ahern, who stopped just short of appointing himself parade grand marshal and declaring it a great day for the Irish.
So when Mr Kenny urged him to "seize the day" and reveal his position, the Taoiseach seized the UN resolution instead. Pat Rabbitte interjected that it was Bertie Ahern's position he wanted, not Kofi Annan's, while Joe Higgins expressed disbelief that the Taoiseach had been untouched by the "elemental movement" that swept the globe at the weekend.
But the nearest they got to a blunt answer was Mr Ahern's concession that his reticence was tactical. Referring to his and other EU leaders' stances, he said: "Nobody's giving their endline positions away, and they're not going to."
Between attempts to separate Mr Ahern's endline from the fence, the Opposition raised domestic concerns. John Deasy - one of the Fine Gael TDs already connected to the national grid - raised the Minister for Justice's "idiotic" proposal to allow local authorities determine pub closing times, as Pat Rabbitte muttered that "pub opening" was the Taoiseach's speciality.
The Greens' Ciaran Cuffe bemoaned the bitter dispute at Carrickmines between two State agencies, Dúchas and the National Museum - a possible case for UN intervention. Seamus Healy inquired facetiously if the Government was bringing forward legislation "to abolish South Tipperary". And in a rare example of an Opposition TD waiting in the short grass, Bernard Durkan asked about progress with "the Curragh of Kildare Bill".
But these are international times, and the mood of the day was set by the Taoiseach's recommendation that the Dáil ratify Ireland's membership of the "Agreement for the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Birdlife". The motion was duly passed, guaranteeing overflight facilities and other rights. Then the birdman of Drumcondra moved sideways on the fence, to make room for new friends.