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Isn’t Irish politics fascinating? It seems so piddling and minor when put up against the scale and significance of British and American politics. But just when you thought it was all about constituency walkabouts, tribunals that never go anywhere (its ineffectual in terms of being able to prosecute the abhorrent political miscreants anyway) and the daily to-and-fro-petty-squabbles in the Dail, along comes a complication so grand that you have to step back from it and wonder.

The complication is Bertie Ahern and the wonder is how he has managed to maintain the façade of the plain politician completely lacking in self interest while working closely with the biggest bunch of greedy thieves and political liars (Ray Burke, Liam Lawlor and Charles J. Haughey) this country has ever known.

Bertie has worked hard to keep this façade in place, appearing adorned in his anoraks, using everyday speech while other politicians turn an arch rhetorical phrase, cutting the crap and getting on with it. It has meant that as his party has suffered enumerable revelations due to their cosy relationships with wealthy Irish business people and have seen their poll ratings plunge (from time to time that is – they’re still the most popular party in the state after all) he has managed to maintain his high popularity. Michael McDowell, the more confrontational and sophisticated speaker perhaps, has pointed this out when reaffirming his commitment to another coalition coupling with Fianna Fail. The Irish electorate, he claimed, would much prefer Bertie to Enda to lead the next Irish Government.

But the façade has slipped. If it is ultimately revealed that Bertie did indeed get a loan from a number of business people for personal use only and if he is repaying them as we speak and if, on top of that, he can successfully prove that this didn't influence any of his political decisions (or paved the way for the contributors to get juicy positions in State funded companies) he’s still done for.

Because even if he’s able to show these things – and I don’t think there is a clear, unequivocal way that he can – it would still show a man who is not the straight-forward no fancy frills politician, with the raising-the-pint-in-his-local-like-the-rest-of-us persona that the nation has come to adore. He is a man who has the ability to solve his significant financial worries with a couple of quick phone calls. That he could do this was not due to having really good mates who happen to be rich and who love him like a brother. He had the ability to sort out his financial mess because he was Minister for Finance in the Irish Government. Whether it was 15,000, 50,000 or 100,000 euro that was provided makes little difference. That, as the Irish Times revealed on Saturday, the payments were in the form of loans just insults the intelligence of the Irish electorate. Loans usually have terms and conditions, a repayment schedule, interest rates and penalties when they go unpaid. That they were loans from friends (thus not needing the usual business associated with traditional loans) ignores the fact that the monies were actively sought through his solicitor, the late Gerry Brennan and was clearly done in a way that goes beyond a bunch of friends pitching money into a hat to get someone out of bad financial scrap.

Pat Rabbitte and Enda Kenny were slow to comment on Thursday when the story broke, perhaps aware that complaining about corruption in Fianna Fail is like saying that Ronan Keating is a twat. Now the opposition seem to be merely reacting against Bertie’s accusation that the opposition have orchestrated the story by leaking details from the Mahon tribunal (judging by Rabitte’s performance on Morning Ireland this morning).

Much comment is made about Michael McDowell’s silence on the matter. Even though the payments date back to 1993 it’s still hypocritical of McDowell to say nothing now. If they really are supposed to keeping an eye on Fianna Fail they should be working harder to get to the bottom of this.

However, what is fascinating to watch is the squirming that Bertie is going to be doing in the next couple of days as he attempts to wriggle out of this particular political straight-jacket. Close colleagues are advising that he come clean with the story now, rather than let it rumble on. But whatever is revealed what we have already seen is yet another Irish politician using his power and position to solve his personal financial problems (Charlie’s debt was a result of a lavish lifestyle while Bertie’s was the result of a lavish legal team). No doubt, in the midst of this political firestorm Fianna Fail will provide the smokescreen (Seamus Brennan on the Week in Politics last night, Willie O’Dea putting political pressure on the Mahon Tribunal, others taking action against the Irish Times who revealed the story) while Bertie readjusts his honest broker mask in the series of personal interviews to come.