'What ifs?' are great puzzlers. For example, what if George Colley had beaten Haughey and there never were the PDs - would Michael McDowell have stayed in Fine Gael and what position would he now hold? What if Pat Cox had become PD leader instead of Mary Harney when O'Malley stood down? What if Dick Spring had insisted on the rotating Taoiseach idea when the Rainbow government was formed in 1994?

The idea of a Labour Party leader filling the top political job in the country is interesting in terms of the forthcoming general election. Would the Fine Gael-Labour alternative be in a stronger position if Pat Rabbitte rather than Enda Kenny was that alliance's nominee for Taoiseach? The idea that the larger party automatically provides the Taoiseach in a coalition arrangement is one of the two great assumed norms of Irish politics, the other being that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael could not work together in government.

As things stand, both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael may well be chasing the Greens after this summer's contest.

Recent polls, including last month's Millward Brown IMS survey for this newspaper, have shown a strengthening in Green support, particularly in Dublin. There may well be seat gains for Patricia McKenna in Dublin Central, Tony McDermott in Dublin South Central and, even as a right outsider, Bronwen Maher in Dublin North Central. These target seats, along with Galway West, Carlow-Kilkenny and Wicklow, put the Greens in a strong position to replace the PDs as the fourth party in Dáil �?ireann.

The advance of the Greens raises another historical puzzler - What if Eamon Ryan had been nominated as a presidential candidate in 2004 to force a contest with Mary McAleese? The Dublin South TD would not have won but he would have elevated the Greens onto a national platform never experienced in the party's short history. If there are seat gains this summer, many in the Green party may rue their lack of ambition in 2004 and wonder, what if?

Poor aul Bertie's a busy bee GOOD man Bertie. Busy running the country, or run -ning around the country, more like. A snapshot from the Taoiseach's diary.

Monday: speech at the launch of the 2007 Suzuki Ladies Gaelic National Football League in Croke Park at 12.30pm. Two hours later: speech at the OPW's Interactive Science and Technology Centre at St Stephen's Green. Forty-five minutes later: speech at Dublin Castle at the official launch of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. By Thursday morning, he was welcoming new air links to Abu Dhabi before arriving in Co Clare.

The day's engagements included opening the Cliffs of Moher Experience at 3.45pm, a visit to Hotel Doolin at 4.45pm and speaking at the opening of a museum exhibition at 7pm. Half an hour later he was launching a Special Olympics campaign before sitting down for dinner with the Fianna Fáil faithful in the constituency.

The pattern was repeated again on Friday with a pre-election visit to Limerick and Tipperary.

During the course of last week, the Taoiseach also read a statement into the record of the Dáil on the outcome of the recent European Council meeting.

The speech was delivered on Wednesday 7 February.

The meeting took place on 14 and 15 December last.

Priorities, priorities.

AND so to the rugby in Croke Park today. Historic the match may be, but a letter in the 'London Times' last week - from a Frank Schnittger in Wicklow - shows that we never let go of our history. "Ireland may well be missing Brian O'Driscoll as well as Shane Horgan and don't have the resources in depth to overcome such losses. However, neither will England have the armoured cars and machine guns they had the last time they entered Croke Park!"

'Six Counties Assembly elections'?

SINN Féin's decision to embrace the police in Northern Ireland has been followed by a new-found interest in post offices. We know the republican movement has long had an interest in post offices although, previously, money was the motivating factor that spurred on their concern. The latest IMC report would seem to confirm that IRA post-office raids are now a legacy of the past.

Maybe that explains Martin Ferris's confidence in backing the Irish Postmasters' Union campaign to prevent the closure of rural post offices.

"For many people it is one of the places that acts as a meeting and contact point for neighbours they might rarely see otherwise, " the Kerry North TD said.

Naturally, Ferris stopped short of offering an apology for all those killed, injured and traumatised while caught up in IRA post office robberies.

On the subject of republican reinvention, some language remains unchanged, with Sinn Féin press releases referring to the forthcoming "Six Counties Assembly elections". Now which six counties might they be?