Author : Colm Keena
Publisher : Gill & Macmillan Ltd
ISBN 13 : 0717151883
Total Pages : 456 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (171 download)
Book Synopsis Bertie Ahern: The Man Who Blew the Boom by : Colm Keena
Download or read book Bertie Ahern: The Man Who Blew the Boom written by Colm Keena and published by Gill & Macmillan Ltd. This book was released on 2011-10-21 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fascinating story of the man who blew the boom. Colm Keena, the journalist who first broke the story of Bertie Ahern's finances, gives us an in-depth examination of the former Taoiseach's character, his lust for power and his obsession with money. Keena scrutinises the evidence produced by the Mahon Tribunal about Ahern's personal finances and his personal political machine, and illustrates the lengths to which Ahern went in his effort to hide the truth about what he was up to. Ahern's political career is re-charted in the light of what we now know about his character. Keena looks at how his desire for power existed alongside an almost complete absence of political conviction, this lack of which left him open to the influence of those with strong opinions, and did nothing to arrest his mismanagement of the Irish economy. His lust for popularity brought Ireland from rude good health to economic disaster. An historic opportunity was squandered, but Bertie walked away from the wreckage with his wallet bulging. His legacy: the near-destruction of a European economy and the collapse of one of the most successful political parties of the past hundred years.