By Paddy Clancy

Speculation is rife that Labor Party leader Pat Rabbitte could keep Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern and Fianna Fail in power after the general election if the figures don’t add up to a Fine Gael/Labor coalition.

Although Labor has a pre-election pact with Fine Gael, Rabbitte left the door open for a deal with Ahern in a weekend interview.

He told the Irish Independent that he accepted a question was being raised because Labor had gone into government with Fianna Fail in 1994. He anticipated that as election time looms nearer he will be asked the question more repeatedly over the next three or four months.

He insisted that an “electoral strategy” –- offering the electorate a firm alternative of Fine Gael, Labor and possibly the Green Party -– had been settled.

But he continued to avoid giving a straight answer to queries on whether he would form an alliance with Fianna Fail if that was the only way a government could be formed without calling an immediate second election.

He said that in that event “of course I will take into account the national interest as I have always done.”

His reference to the “national interest” came as Ahern was being accused of being willing to accept Sinn Fein support to stay in office.

Fears of Sinn Fein holding the balance could be Rabbitte’s “get out” clause if he ultimately decided to bring Labor into government with Fianna Fail.

Meanwhile, the first poll of 2007 made Ahern a firm favorite to continue as taoiseach. He outpolled Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny by two to one.

But the Millward Brown IMS poll carried out for the Sunday Tribune also showed Fianna Fail at 39%, down three points since the last corresponding poll in October.

The poll also showed that a majority of voters -– 62% -– believe Charles Haughey’s family should be made pay back some of the money he took during his political career.

Three out of four voters did not agree with the assessment of the Haughey family that the findings of the Moriarty tribunal were “unfounded.”