HEWAS once the most ruthless, the most cunning and the most devious of them all. Now he's little more than Haughey-lite. Last week's tribunal appearance brings almost to an end 12 months in which Bertie Ahern's unorthodox and unusual financial affairs have been public knowledge. In this newspaper, a year ago, we concluded that it was wrong for a senior politician to take money for private gain as Ahern did at the still unexplained Manchester function.

If there was any decency in Irish politics Ahern would have resigned last autumn. If the opposition had any mettle, they would have unambiguously called from his resignation. And, if Fianna Fail had really learnt anything from the Haughey era, the party would have been rid of Ahern, irrespective of his electoral pedigree. None of those things happened.

Some 55% of respondents to an opinion poll in this newspaper last October said he was wrong to have taken the money in Manchester and in Dublin in the mid-1990s when he was minister for finance. At that time, the view that Ahern should resign was not, however, shared by a majority of opinion poll respondents . . . 29% said he should resign with 65% indicating that he should not step down.

Seven months later the voters went to the polls. In the RTE/Lansdowne exit poll last May, 75% said the Ahern payments controversy did not affect their voting decision with 16% indicating that it did influence their decision to vote against Fianna Fail candidates.

Ahern, however, should not take any comfort from those poll findings. The reality is that he and his like have discredited the profession of politics to such an extent that most people expectations of their elected politicians has been lowered. Haughey, with his millions, tops the scandal scale. Ahern, with his hundreds of thousands, is still some way behind. He's bad but not that bad, and not as bad as Haughey. It is on those terms that he now remains in office.

Additional information about exchange rates, foreign currencies and his lack of cooperation with the tribunal are really only the background mood music. The main tune still plays loud . . . Ahern took money from businessmen for his private gain when he was a member of government. It was wrong, and it is indefensible. With two feet in the Haughey era, Bertie Ahern can solider on in Government Buildings in the short term but the sooner he is gone the better for public life.

AND SO the Seanad returned to work last week with Donie Cassidy, the new Fianna Fail leader in the upper house, promising to extend the vote to all university graduates within 12 months. A referendum to allow this action was passed back in 1979. The move, however, should not be allowed to masquerade as Seanad reform. The elitist and restricted franchise needs a total overhaul.

Electing members of the upper house should not be confined to a cosy club of public representatives and graduates of thirdlevel institutions. The other interesting news from the Seanad last week was the election of Co Offaly politician Pat Moylan as the new Cathaoirleach. Moylan beat off opposition within Fianna Fail for his party's nomination with the help of his friend Brian Cowen, who made more than one phone call to ensure Moylan secured the top spot. The intervention of the finance minister is yet another sign of his increasing dominance within Fianna Fail. His leader-in-waiting status will again be evident this week at the pre-Dail meeting of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party.

Cowen . . . and not Ahern . . .

will deliver the concluding address on Tuesday afternoon.

Seanad 'reform' falls short of the overhaul needed

THEY start work at a little after 10.30am and pause for coffee at 11.45am before resuming for an hour prior to breaking for lunch. About two hours' work is completed in the afternoon. They generally work a four-day week. Yes, the Mahon tribunal is adhering to its terms of reference about inquiring into matters of urgent public concern. If the tribunal had worked a normal day on Thursday and Friday last, it's likely there would have been no need to bring Bertie Ahern back for further questioning. It was Michael McDowell's greatest failure that he did not succeed in taking on the inefficient and costly tribunal industry. If Bertie Ahern had any valid contribution last week it was his criticisms of the workings of the tribunal process. Not all of it can be attributed to his delay in furnishing information.