Sir, - Bertie Ahern plus 76 TDs and Mary Harney plus 3 TDs are currently discussing the formation of a new government. Of course, their combined 81 TDs will not be sufficient to give them a majority in the Dail, so the next step will be for Bertie to encourage, entice, or cajole a couple of Independents to support him. Time will tell how stable, reliable and efficient that government will be.
Now let's suppose quite a different scenario. Bertie Ahern plus 76 TDs and John Bruton plus 53 TDs are discussing the formation of a new government. This would include three quarters (131 TDs) of those elected. What a representative government that would be. What stability it would have and above all what talent and experience it could bring to the Cabinet table.
But, one might ask, are Fianna Fail and Fine Gael sufficiently compatible to form a government? They are, in my book, far more compatible than the Rainbow partners are, and far and away more compatible than Fianna Fail, the PDs plus a couple of Independents.
Bertie and John, the Civil War ended 75 years ago, before both of you were born. New generations of Irish men and women now inhabit our island. So together let's build a better Ireland and leave the past, with all its mistakes, its absurdities and above all its bitterness, way behind us and face the future arm in arm. - Yours, etc.,
Villa Park Gardens, Dublin 7.