Time for Enda Kenny to ditch the old ways and think about reform

Imagine you are the Taoiseach. It is early January and you are back in your office in Government Buildings facing into another year.

You may, perhaps, be wondering how you are still here after that election result, last February, but there we are. It is time to jot a few ideas on the pad. The voters certainly have added to your headache and we’re not just talking about Irish voters.

You preside over one of the world’s most open, trade- dependent economies yet a global trade war now seems a real possibility. America has just elected a blustering new President who is tweeting tough policy declarations.