I think the first motive is most likely, if it's just personal satisfaction he's after. Buy at €2.90 (or whatever) and get your opponent to buy at €3.5.
With the recent problems Bertie has had, he'll steer well clear of any behind the scenes deals.
What concerns me most of all is that, whatever people say of MOL, he's the only one who has presented anything close to a coherent vision of EI's future, whether you agree with it (or even believe it or not); it's more than a little concerning that his vision of EI is more exciting than DM's. I think the big concern I would have about the "stop FR" motive of EI, unions, etc is that it doesn't seem to go further than that. There are HUGE opportunities for EI out there, particularly on long haul, once the stopover nonsense is out of the way, but the danger is that once the stopover is out of the way, the American heavy guns - CO, DL, AA, US etc - will be throwing major capacity our way. If this happens, can EI on its own stand up to it? Is 12-14 787s going to be enough? It's not just the threat, but the opportunities which are of concern, and this is why I raised the issue of pre-clearance and customs issues last week (much the moderators' chagrin!).
I don't mean to cause offence to anyone in what I say and please don't take any, but given the choice, I'd much rather see EI and FR join forces (even if only on long haul) to take full advantage of this, than to see it fall to the US carriers; that's an unnecessary and avoidable outcome and it can be avoided, but only if EI puts pride aside.
Given the Taoiseach's recent success in bringing the DUP and SF together (despite the hitches), surely it would be a good idea for the govt to convene meetings of all the interested parties - IALPA, SIPTU, Ryanair (yes, in the same room), DO'B etc, so that a workable long term plan can be developed; the danger of a perception that there's fighting in the cockpit with no one flying the plane is appropriate here. Let's look beyond just "stopping FR" and make sure EI is well positioned for the opportunities ahead.