• Mr Ahern's third coalition

  There is no gainsaying it. Bertie Ahern's achievement is awesome. In some ways it exceeds that of Eamon de Valera, who also held office for three terms, because he had to do so without ever having an overall majority for Fianna Fáil. Charles Haughey, who died a year ago, sold out on Fianna Fail's core value - majority government - and his successor, Mr Ahern, has since crafted coalitions to suit the mood of the electorate of the day. p
  

• Blair and the media

  It is easy to assume that nobody pays much attention any more to what Tony Blair has to say. That has been increasingly the case since last September's attempted coup forced the timetable for his departure from 10 Downing Street. Indeed the sense of the audience moving on has been with us since that moment, before the 2005 general election, when he volunteered that it would be his last. p
  

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