He is leaving behind a 'major legacy'

GORMLEY REACTION: GREEN PARTY leader and Minister for the Environment John Gormley said yesterday he owes his position at the heart of national politics to the Taoiseach.

Mr Ahern, he said, had ushered in "a new era of consensus politics". In an interview with Seán O'Rourke on RTÉ radio, Mr Gormley said the Taoiseach was leaving behind a "major legacy".

"He was an outstanding Taoiseach by any standard and I would not be talking to you Seán, as even the leader of the Green Party or as a Minister of Government, were it not for Bertie Ahern. I have to say in the last 10 months he could not have been more supportive of me and my colleagues."

There would be no general election in the wake of Mr Ahern's resignation, he added. "We have a programme for government which we've negotiated and that programme is going to be initiated."

He said "I would like to think I'm an effective Minister in the Government which is working well. The Taoiseach stood by me and he stood by my party . . . I'm acknowledging the contribution he has made to Irish society . . ."

He criticised the focus on Mr Ahern's financial problems. "The way the media has jumped on this and . . . other areas have been ignored . . . This has been a stable government, and maybe this is wishful thinking, but we would really like the media to focus on the policies that we're trying to implement," said Mr Gormley.

"We had a €22 billion investment by the ESB last week, which was very significant, and I think it was number six down the chart on the news.

"That is not the way I want to do business," he said. "But, personally, I am saddened and I wish Bertie Ahern and his family all the best for the future."

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times