Blair, Clinton Enter Fray of Tense Irish Election

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern called in international reinforcements ahead of a pivotal television debate.

 Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern called in international reinforcements ahead of a pivotal television debate on Thursday as parties enter the last week of an election too close to call.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former U.S. President Bill Clinton were among those to tell Irish voters in a party political broadcast late on Wednesday of Ahern's contribution to Irish peace and prosperity after 10 years in office.

Ahern's role in creating a dynamic, enterprising Ireland had been "immeasurable," Blair said in the broadcast.

Despite a political settlement in Northern Ireland this month and a thriving economy, Ahern faces an uphill battle to win a third term after a furore over his finances forced him to publish receipts in order to prove he had not taken bribes.

An overstretched health service, where nurses have been staging work stoppages, and a creaking transport system that has failed to keep pace with a fast-growing, increasingly wealthy population have added to the sense it may be time for a change.

"There's a sense that the 'Celtic Tiger' inheritance has been squandered," said Damian Loscher, head of pollster TNS mrbi.

Fine Gael, which has teamed up with the left-leaning Labour Party to try and unseat Ahern, has tapped into that, promising to make wiser use of resources in a campaign where there is little to distinguish the main parties on tax and spending.

Ahern has countered that by stressing his credentials as a statesman as opposed to Fine Gael leader and would-be successor Enda Kenny whose cabinet experience consists of two and half years as trade minister in the 1990s.

THE BERTIE FACTOR

Above all his role, undisputed by rivals, in brokering an end to 30 years of bloodshed in Northern Ireland and this month's formation of a power-sharing government have won praise.

"There's nothing really like it anywhere in the world and I hope Bertie will always be proud of it," Clinton said. "He never lost his energy, he never lost his determination, he never lost his vision, he never lost his sense of humour."

For all that, one thing is clear: poll after poll has shown the coalition of Ahern's Fianna Fail and the smaller Progressive Democrats does not have enough support to stay in government.

But the same polls show the proposed alternative of Fine Gael and Labour may also fall short of a majority, meaning smaller, undeclared parties such as the Green Party and IRA political ally Sinn Fein could end up the kingmakers.

Labour may also switch to Ahern if there is no alternative.

"What happens in the last couple of days is going to be pivotal," Loscher said before Ahern and Kenny go head-to-head in a debate on national broadcaster RTE at 9.40 p.m. (2040 GMT).

Ahern will hope to capitalise on the 'Bertie-factor' as polls show that while his party's support has slipped his own ratings have held above 50 percent and ahead of Kenny.