Taoiseach prepares to rule without a majority

Fianna Fail to control more ministries

Bertie Ahern is prepared to rule with a minority government, senior Fianna Fail sources revealed last night.

The Taoiseach would return to power if Fianna Fail's 78-seat bloc were propped up by the remaining two Progressive Democrat TDs and two Independents, Beverley Cooper Flynn and Jackie Healy-Rae. The coalition would still be two seats short of a majority government.

Cooper Flynn and Healey-Rae are both described as being from the 'Fianna Fail family' and could be relied on to shore up Ahern's third administration.

Regardless of the political constellation that will take power next month, Ahern is certain to be elected Taoiseach. His stunning electoral performance, which contradicted most of the opinion polls, makes him the most successful Taoiseach, barring Eamon de Valera, in modern Irish history. His party will return to the 30th Dail with around 78 TDs. Ahern has said he will retire at 60, in the middle of his third term. Fianna Fail sources insisted yesterday that Brian Cowen, the Minister for Finance, is the hot favourite to succeed him as Taoiseach.

The make-up of the next cabinet will be radically different from the outgoing government, with Fianna Fail likely to monopolise all the main ministries. In the previous government the Progressive Democrats held two important ministries, justice and health.

Willie O'Dea, the outgoing Defence Minister, is likely to gain a promotion in the cabinet. It is also likely that Brian Lenihan will be elevated to a senior position in the cabinet. The son of the defeated Fianna Fail presidential candidate in 1991 is regarded as having been a solid performer for the party on radio and television during the election.

Last night Ahern said there were few parties anywhere in Europe that could have matched Fianna Fail's achievements. He also attacked sections of the Irish media for concentrating on allegations about his personal finances during the early 1990s. The Taoiseach said parts of the media were hell-bent on trying to 'kick the life out of politicians'. The biggest losers in the contest were Sinn Fein and the Progressive Democrats. The PDs lost three-quarters of their seats, while Sinn Fein will return to the Dail with only four TDs, despite predictions that the party would win up to 15 seats.

The most significant individual casualty of the election was the outgoing Tanaiste and Justice Minister, Michael McDowell. The Greens' John Gormley won the race for the last seat in Dublin South East. After losing his seat, McDowell announced that he was retiring from politics.