wanted leader of small but overachieving European country

Want to become chief executive of a small but overachieving European county? Why not apply for our leaders job online in Ireland :-)

So background - The Irish Leader -is called the Taoiseach (what Irish folks call our prime minister or president (although we have a president as well but its just a figurehead position like - well like Bush really but with brains and no evil cheney in background..)

So Bertie Ahern our current Taoiseach/ leader in Ireland is stepping down. He's been mired in questions about payments (allegedly) for buying girlfriend a house, for payments various over the years (we don't have lobbyists in Ireland so much more direct about here I'll give you $30K Euro and you let me have that land over there as a motorway will be going through it very soon so we'll both make a few bob...

Of course Bertie had learnt from the best - Charles Haughey our don't shake his hand as you may lose some fingers previous leader. Not many countries can boast that their previous leaders were convicted of gun running and then elected.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Haughey

No Iran contra nonsense for us - we elect the fruitcakes after the crime. Oh wait so does America. Well our tribunals into their affairs drag on longer than that time before you were allowed up for Christmas morning to see your presents. Seeing the wagons and horses circle around him our cowboy president is getting out before he gets pinned down. Which is a pity as for 11 years he has helped guide Ireland into a much more stable economy. With Bertie at the reins the celtic tiger that Haughey helped lay foundation for - bred some more and made Ireland a place that people now emigrate to. But back to the job posting

So some folks at an Irish recruitment site put up a parody of his job availability
Here's story here on Yahoo and the job posting. Which has received several thousand submitters by now...

No swinging chads for us dear folks.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/
20080403/ap_on_re_eu/ireland_job_search_1;_ylt
=Ap.vgea6y1y0sCZSZyQw4yAE1vAI




http://www.recruitireland.com/job/leader-nationwide/10012942/

It offers an uncannily on-target lampoon job, if nothing else.
The prime minister's post appears as "Leader" of "Ireland Inc.," and notes Ahern's current salary of about $481,000 annually. The job comes on a permanent contract, "subject to five-year reviews," a.k.a. elections.

Benefits include a company car and driver; subsidized canteen, bar and teacart service; an allowance for makeup — a much-pilloried Ahern expense; and a minimum 90 holidays — a jab at the Dublin parliament's penchant for long breaks.

The parody next takes a stab at the collection of alleged fringe benefits that toppled Ahern: gifts and unpaid loans from business friends, an insider deal on buying a house, party funds for personal use and a girlfriend's house purchase.

"Bonus/Charity/Residential scheme ... at employee's discretion," the ad deadpans.
The satire was quickly scripted by RecruitIreland staff at their base in Cork, southwest Ireland, and placed, without any home page advertising or any other public fanfare, deep within the jobs database.

It's listed as "Client ID RI/TAO0001," which refers to Republic of Ireland and Taoiseach — the formal Gaelic title of the prime minister's post.
RecruitIreland staff e-mailed friends and business colleagues about the listing, which unleashed an Internet chain reaction.
"It's just spiraled. We're a bit amazed by how many people have seen it," said marketing manager Emma Henry, who reports that the company has received no complaints — and more than a few seriously worded applications.

But applicants need certain qualifications to be prime minister, according to the ad.
"You will report to the Nation on a daily basis. The ideal candidate will have a head for figures, the energy to motivate his/her team, undermine the opposition, and be able to work well under pressure," the ad says.

The next successful applicant does need to be stronger in one key category than Ahern, who repeatedly failed to recall basic details of his 1990s finances on the witness stand.

"A good memory is essential," it advises.