TAOISEACH BERTIE Ahern yesterday indicated his intention to remain in office until 2012, the outer limit of the Government's electoral mandate, claiming that he has the full support of Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Brian Cowen and the Fianna Fáil party.
Clarifying the issue of whether he intended to step down in 2011, when he reaches the age of 60, Mr Ahern pointed out that he would still be 60 for much of the following year. The Taoiseach's 60th birthday occurs on September 12th, 2011.
Speaking in Vienna on the second day of his visit to central and eastern Europe, Mr Ahern told journalists he had given no consideration to competing for the position of president of the European Council which will be created on a long-term basis if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified.
Having visited the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, on Tuesday, the Taoiseach arrived in Vienna yesterday and will be flying on to Warsaw today, before travelling home. Asked if his travels this week had prompted any reflections about competing for the post of European Council president, Mr Ahern said: "I haven't thought about that." Asked again if he had not considered the position at all, the Taoiseach said: "I think about lots of things but [ when] you come to a decision on things is another matter."
The issue arose later in Mr Ahern's joint press conference with Austrian chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer. Asked if he would support the Taoiseach if Mr Ahern declared an interest in the council presidency, the Austrian leader said that, although the two men had talked for an hour and a half on many issues, Mr Ahern "did not forward a candidature".
He added: "We agreed that it would be very useful to wait till the European Parliamentary elections [ of mid-2009] before taking major decisions on the most important posts for Europe." Mr Ahern said, "I share Chancellor Gusenbauer's view."
Asked for his reaction to a suggestion by Green Party Senator Dan Boyle that he should emulate Tony Blair by being more specific about the timing of his departure from office, Mr Ahern said: "Well I have already done that. My mandate expires in May or June 2012, so I have already done that."
When asked if this meant he would remain as Taoiseach until 2012, Mr Ahern responded: "That's when my mandate runs out." Asked how this squared with his statement that he was going at 60, he replied: "I said that, too, yes. I'm 60 in 2012." When it was pointed out that his 60 birthday would occur in 2011, he responded: "Well yes, but you're still 60, you're not just 60 for a day."
Rejecting suggestions that Mr Cowen had been low-key or half-hearted in his support, the Taoiseach said: "Nonsense, nonsense." When asked if he was totally satisfied he had Mr Cowen's support and the full support of the Fianna Fáil party, including backbenchers, Mr Ahern said: "Totally."
Separately yesterday Mr Ahern told the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) at its headquarters in Vienna that European and Irish recognition of Kosovo's independence should not be taken as indicating hostility towards Serbia.
In his address to a joint session of the OSCE's permanent council and forum for security co-operation, he acknowledged that Kosovo's declaration of independence "is opposed by some and causes concern to others".
Mr Ahern told reporters afterwards that Ireland's official recognition of Kosovo was imminent: "We will make a decision within a matter of days. We are going to recognise Kosovo, we will follow the European Union line. It's likely that 20-21 countries will do it but within the week we will make the formal decision."
