IT IS A proud day for Brian Cowen and his family and a privileged day for Clara and Co Offaly. Within hours, Mr Cowen will become the seventh leader of Fianna Fáil in the party's history and, within weeks, the twelfth Taoiseach of this State.
It is no small tribute to him that he will be selected as party leader by the acclaim of his colleagues. But, he has a hard act to follow after Bertie Ahern. He will be a different leader in substance and in style and he needs to be given his own space.
There is always a frisson of excitement in the body politic when a new Fianna Fáil leader takes office. In this instance, the changes are to be multiplied. Mr Cowen is set to become a first-time taoiseach supported by a first-time tánaiste and a first-time minister for finance. A new page in our history books is being opened.
What Mr Cowen will write in that history is relatively unknown, however. He is, as we have seen him, the quintessential Fianna Fáil man. His trademarks are loyalty to the leader and loyalty to the Fianna Fáil party. How Mr Cowen will transfer that allegiance to the governance of this State to serve the greater good of all is the big question surrounding his leadership. Can he think and appeal outside the Fianna Fáil box, as Mr Ahern did so well?
Mr Cowen has held many high profile ministries over the years where he has demonstrated considerable skills on issues of process and organisation. But, little is known about his vision for Ireland. One clue to his priorities can be gleaned from his keynote address to the Royal Irish Academy last November when he delivered the Indecon Public Policy Lecture. The three priorities which, he believed, we must put more focus on over the next 10 years were productivity, equity and the environment in which we live. "My objective is to work to ensure that by the 100th year of commemoration of 1916, Ireland will be a country at peace which is characterised by very high productivity, enhanced equity and one in which we promote and safeguard our environment," he said.
That lecture was delivered when Mr Cowen was only the anointed one and, understandably, it was rooted in economic policy. There was an interesting pointer to the inner beliefs of the man where he said: "A republic is a country where citizens come together to agree the rules under which the government is mandated to advance all individual interests equally".
There will be much interest in what Mr Cowen has to say today, or on May 7th, about Ireland and her future. There is a need to know more about his values. There are many serious challenges facing this Coalition. It is important, given the removal from office of his three immediate predecessors, that he is the first Fianna Fáil leader of the post-Haughey era. He can set his own standards in public office. He must articulate his aspirations for the Ireland of the 21st century. There is a sense of new beginnings.