Assessment: Mary Harney has been in government for eight of the past 13 years and her appetite for power shows no signs of diminishing, writes Denis Coghlan.
The Tánaiste and leader of the Progressive Democrats has travelled a long and bumpy road since she first entered government as a junior minister with Fianna Fáil in 1989. Sharing a government department with Pádraig Flynn in 1989 was like living with a crocodile, but Mary Harney survived, pursued her smoke-free cities policy and grew a thick skin.
By the time Bertie Ahern courted the Progressive Democrats in 1997, she had served in government with both Charlie Haughey and Albert Reynolds. Inter-party relations had plumbed the depths. But she still had lessons to learn.
With Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Democratic Left campaigning for re-election as an outgoing government, Mary Harney allowed herself to be shifted from an independent, stand-alone platform towards Fianna Fáil. A number of blunders during the election campaign added to the difficulties and, closely embraced by Mr Ahern and Fianna Fáil, the party lost its distinctive image. In the process, it alienated Fine Gael voters and forfeited transfers. Michael McDowell lost his Dáil seat in Dublin South East by a handful of votes. By contrast, transfers presented Fianna Fáil with a bonus of 10 seats.
The lesson has been learned. Ms Harney spent the past four years mending fences with Mr McDowell, who blamed her for his defeat. He was appointed Attorney General. In January, he became party president with extensive powers and announced he would stand for the Dáil. But this time the party will hold hard to its independent position and seek preferential votes from across the spectrum.
New blood is desperately required. With Des O'Malley retiring, the party would be down to three seats. His daughter, Fiona O'Malley, hopes to be elected in Dún Laoghaire, while Tom Parlon is running in Laois/Offally and John Minihan in Cork South Central. At best, the party can hope for five or six seats.
Mary Harney has done well in this Government. As Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, she presided over the greatest economic boom the State has known. Job creation targets were continually revised upwards while unemployment levels fell dramatically. Only in the past six months has that situation soured.
In spite of that, a net 370,000 new jobs were created since 1997.
The Progressive Democrats were pushing an open door when they asked Charlie McCreevy to cut taxes. The first few budgets reflected their priorities rather than those of Fianna Fáil. It was one way to keep the junior partners sweet in a volatile situation.
For, with the Ray Burke scandal breaking about her in 1998, the Tánaiste declared she would not have gone into Government with Fianna Fáil had she known the details.
There were other days when Bertie Ahern's lack of candour drove her to near-despair. But she held on; she insisted that various tribunals be established and, within her own Department, authorised 16 investigations into tax fraud and breaches of the Companies Acts.
She initiated reform of the accounting and auditing professions and, in general, sought to encourage deregulation. Taxis, pharmacies and - to a lesser extent - the drinks trade were affected and State companies were sold off.
The Tánaiste's most obvious achievement was the establishment of a minimum wage. But perhaps her most important contribution was the appointment of a Director of Corporate Enforcement - and her determination that professional people should pay their taxes and obey the law.
Reform and deregulation lie at the heart of her political approach.