Since his rejoining of Fianna Fáil, rumours have been mounting that Mr. Ahern is planning a 2025 Presidential run.
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has refused to rule out a bid to succeed Michael D Higgins as the President of Ireland in the next Presidential election.
It is the second time in a number of weeks in which Mr. Ahern has refused to rule out a possible campaign, following his comments on Newstalk last month.
The former Fianna Fáil leader appeared on RTE’s The Late Late Show on Friday evening to discuss the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
Bertie Ahern was on the show speaking to his involvement in the Good Friday Agreement. (Credit: Rolling News)Following Mr. Ahern’s rejoining of Fianna Fáil in February of this year, ending a near-decade-long exile from the political party, rumours have been steadily growing that he plans to contest the 2025 Presidential election.
Over the course of his appearance on RTE’s flagship chat show, the former Taoiseach discussed his role in the brining about of the Good Friday Agreement, which he described as a “pleasure” to be involved with.
Mr. Ahern did however acknowledge that the agreement “hasn’t done everything we wanted”, a fact borne out by reports this week that dissident Republicans are planning attacks on PSNI members in Derry for this coming Easter Monday.
As the interview reached its final stages, host Ryan Tubridy opted to address the rumours surrounding Mr. Ahern’s anticipated Presidential bid, by asking if he was “running for the Áras or not”.
Will Bertie Ahern be running for the Áras 👀#LateLate pic.twitter.com/hEjqPHidDR
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) April 7, 2023
The former Taoiseach replied “Next question”, intimating that it was a topic was something he’d rather not discuss. Tubridy then responded “I’ll take that as a yes. Even I’m around long enough to know what that answer is”.
Mr. Ahern served as Taoiseach for just shy of 11 years, but resigned from the position in the wake of revelations made in the Mahon Tribunal.
This prompted Tubridy to question whether or not Mr. Ahern’s political past could hamper a potential Presidential campaign, asking “How you left the Taoiseach’s office and all that, does that worry you when it comes to the race for the Presidency?”
Mr. Ahern responded “To be honest with you, I haven’t really thought about that. I said I’m going to stay involved in the North this year”.
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