The Labour leader Mr Pat Rabbitte said today that the Taoiseach's claim to be a socialist "would be funny if it didn't reveal a cynical and fraudulent political strategy".
"No thinking person will take the Taoiseach's claim seriously, especially when contrasted with the record of the two governments over which he has presided," he said.
"The purpose of this outlandish claim, repeated several times over the weekend and not seriously challenged, does not arise from the Taoiseach's desire to set out a political philosophy. Instead he is intent, in the words of former Minister Ray Burke, on trying to draw a line in the sand, to escape the judgement of the people for the policies and actions of the past."
Mr Rabbitte called Mr Ahern's claim an exercise in attemping to reposition the Fianna Fail party, damaged as it has been by seven years of broken promises and harsh, uncaring policies.
"It is also an attempt to send out the message that after the next election, he and his party will be open to different alliances than the one they presently enjoy with the PDs. In particular, with his repeated claim to be a true republican, he is now trying to set out ground for a post-election alliance with Sinn Féin," he said.
Mr Rabbitte added that the government had "misspend the wealth of the nation in ways that are utterly irresponsible, while studiously avoiding the opportunity to make the sort of incremental improvements in quality public services that would improve the quality of life of the community, and particularly those members of the community who live at the margins."
He said that the Taoiseach's track record could not be described, by any stretch of the imagination, as either socialist or republican.