[caption id="attachment_66591" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Bertie Ahern believes he could have succeeded President Mary McAleese."]
Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he believes he would have "done all right" in the presidential election but for the decline in the popularity of Fianna Fáil.
The former party leader is now predicting that Fine Gael candidate, Dublin MEP Gay Mitchell, will win the presidency in October's poll.
Ahern famously denounced Mr. Mitchell as "a waffler" in the Dáil in 1994 but now describes him as a "good friend" who is "in the driving seat" to win the presidential race.
However, the ex-taoiseach has blamed Fianna Fáil's unpopularity for "snookering" his own presidential prospects.
"I still would have done all right. They have done some figures and I would probably sit in around 30 percent, which you haven't a hope with, as the party is on 20 percent.
"The party popularity is the thing that snookers it. If there was no downturn and if it wasn't all the hassle of the tribunals and everything else, then you could have had a good run at it."
Although Mr. Mitchell is appealing to Fianna Fáil members to support his presidential bid, it is unclear how voters will react to an endorsement by the former taoiseach.
"I'd say Mitchell definitely has it. His party is on 40 percent of the vote and if they run a good campaign there is no reason he won't hold his party vote.
"But nobody is going to win it outright, like Mary McAleese had it won on the first count," he added.
Meanwhile, prospective candidates in the presidential race have until September 28 to secure a nomination, it was revealed this week.
Minister for the environment, Phil Hogan, confirmed the election date of October 27 and encouraged anyone not on the electoral register to ensure their details are recorded, the Irish Times reported.
Every Irish citizen who is 18 and included in the register of electors for a constituency is entitled to vote at the election. The total electorate stands at 3.1 million, the paper's report added.
Four candidates are currently in the race, the aforementioned Gay Mitchell, Labour's Michael D Higgins, and independents Sean Gallagher and Mary Davis.
Gallagher and Davis need to secure the support of either 20 Oireachtas members, or four councils, to secure a nomination. Fianna Fáil is to meet this week to discuss its role in the election, but an internal party candidate is not expected to emerge.
