The Taoiseach Mr Ahern's brother, Noel, said yesterday he sincerely hoped he was not in trouble with his younger brother for saying he was "straighter" than him.
Mr Noel Ahern, a Dublin TD, had said his views on things were easier to read than those of his brother. "I'm straighter. If you look me in the eye, you'll know what I'm thinking. If you look Bertie in the eye, it's quite difficult to know what he's thinking."
In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Ahern said he expected there to be an election in June, despite the fact the Taoiseach said the Government would run its full course. "As a backbench TD I'm aware that May-June is a time of strong possibility and I'll try to have my own house in order for that time," he said.
He was not, he added, totally reassured by his brother's assurances of a 2002 general election.
Speaking on Today with Pat Kenny yesterday Mr Noel Ahern said his brother was "difficult to read at times." The Taoiseach was "a brother on family matters" but he was "a colleague on political issues".
Asked if he would endorse the view of Mr Charles Haughey, who described Mr Bertie Ahern as "the most cunning, the most devious of them all", his brother said he was not suggesting any of those things.
"I'm just saying that with myself, if I'm unsure of my ground, or if I don't agree with somebody, I'd probably argue back with them or I might look a bit uneasy, but Bertie can, he certainly gives everyone his time, and he'll certainly listen to you always but you can't really know where's he's at."
Asked if he thought he would get into trouble with his brother, Mr Ahern said he sincerely hoped not. "I think Bertie, our relationship, is he does his thing and I do mine and I hope I'm not standing on his toes politically but I don't think so. I might have been a bit too forthcoming, maybe I was a bit casual."
Mr Ahern was also critical of the Oireachtas reform package being proposed by the Government chief whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, describing some of it as "off the wall".