Dublin, Ireland – Bertie Ahern won re-election Thursday as prime minister of Ireland, extending his 10 years in power and clearing the way for a broadly based coalition government.
Fianna Fail lawmakers cheered after he received 89 votes in the 166-member Dail Eireann parliament, easily defeating challenger Enda Kenny of the major opposition Fine Gael party.
Ahern, 55, received support from all his Fianna Fail colleagues and also lawmakers from his new three-party government: the right-wing Progressive Democrats, or PDs, who have been Ahern’s partners since 1997, and the left- wing Greens, longtime opponents of the outgoing Fianna Fail-PD coalition.
“We live in an Ireland of unprecedented peace and prosperity. This has not happened by chance,” said Ahern, referring to his roles guiding the Republic of Ireland’s “Celtic Tiger” economy and the peace process in Northern Ireland.
His next step will be to fill a 15-member Cabinet, likely to include two Greens and Mary Harney, leader of the Progressive Democrats. Harney was expected to remain health minister despite strong Green opposition to her efforts to build hospitals using private finance.
Ahern’s success in forging a government that includes the Greens and Progressive Democrats – at opposite ends of the political spectrum in Irish politics – stunned the experts.
Ahern, a plainspoken Dubliner, has won praise in Northern Ireland and the European Union for his ability to bridge differences.
Ahern is only the second prime minister in Irish history to win three consecutive terms, following Fianna Fail founder Eamon de Valera, who won seven elections from 1932 to 1957.
