The new Taoiseach is a vastly experienced politician who has served a long apprenticeship, writes Stephen Collins, Political Editor
BRIAN COWEN is just 48 as he takes over the reins of office, but he is a vastly experienced politician who has served a long apprenticeship. He has been a Dáil deputy for 24 years and a cabinet minister for 14 years. He starts off as Taoiseach with considerably more experience of government than Bertie Ahern had when he assumed office in 1997.
Cowen was catapulted into the Dáil at the very young age of 24 due to the untimely death of his father, Ber Cowen, in 1984. His deep roots in Fianna Fáil go back not only to his father but to his grandfather, who was a county councillor in Offaly.
His status as a quintessential party man comes from that family tradition and it was one of the key elements in his appeal to the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party and to the wider party organisation.
Cowen is a hard-nosed political bruiser when it comes to party politics, but he is also a popular figure with his colleagues in Leinster House. While he is a no-holds barred fighter in political debate, he is capable of putting partisanship aside in his personal dealings with politicians of all parties.
His formidable skills as a debater will be one of the strengths he will bring to the role of Taoiseach, along with considerable intelligence. He is likely to be far less patient than Bertie Ahern with Opposition rivals or his own Ministers who show themselves as not being up to the job.
While his ability is not in doubt, there has been some questioning of Cowen's track record as a minister, with suggestions that he lacks originality and is prone to follow the official line.
His record as a minister in the five departments in which he served was not spectacular, but a strong plus is that he showed a knack for keeping out of political trouble and made no serious mistakes.
His ministerial career began when Albert Reynolds plucked him from the backbenches on taking over from Charles Haughey in February of 1992, and made him minister for labour. At that stage, Fianna Fáil was in coalition with the Progressive Democrats and Cowen earned a lot of publicity with his declaration: "If in doubt, leave them out."
The general election of November 1992 was a disaster for Fianna Fáil, but the party came back to office in coalition with Labour. By now widely regarded as a rising star, Cowen was appointed minister for transport, energy and communications.
Under his tenure, the process of major change in the commercial semi-State sector began as required under EU legislation. He showed an ability to make decisions, although the collapse of the government in less than three years meant that he never got to see most of them through.
After the Fianna Fáil victory in 1997, Cowen was appointed minister for health. He famously described that department as "Angola" because landmines were liable to go off any time. His desire to get out of health as soon as possible showed political shrewdness, but it fostered the reputation of a fair-weather minister. To be fair to Cowen, as minister for health he introduced a package of measures for people with disabilities and he continued to provide resources in this area when he was minister for finance. He also took a tough line during the nurses' dispute in 1999 and was not intimidated by potentially bad PR.
Cowen could not disguise his relief at being moved to foreign affairs in January, 2000. While there, he presided over the continuing and complex developments in the peace process and was involved in Ireland's campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council. He showed a firm grasp of the issues when he chaired the council during the month after September 11th, 2001.
He was moved to finance after Fianna Fáil suffered a drubbing in the local and European elections of 2004. His time there is often compared unfavourably with that of his predecessor, Charlie McCreevy, who brought energy and originality to the job and frequently ignored official advice.
There is an element of truth in this, but it is far from the full story. Cowen was put into finance to steady the ship at a time when McCreevy, who was blamed for the poor local election results, had become unpopular with many of his colleagues for following free-market policies.
To the relief of many Fianna Fáil TDs, Cowen's budgets were more traditional, with a greater emphasis on social inclusion. That approach also served to improve relations with the trade unions and keep the partnership deals in place.
The real question, though, is whether Cowen ignored the gathering economic storm clouds for too long and, by failing to take action earlier, made the current downturn worse than it need have been. The answer to that question will only become apparent during his first term as Taoiseach and will be crucial in determining whether or not he gets a second term.