THE past week may prove to be a defining moment for the Greens in Government. Before the dawn comes the darkest hour. They learned however much they wish to avoid a general election, Fianna Fáil are even more eager to evade the electorate.

THE media frenzy about George Lee has abated. Opinion is divided whether Fine Gael could have managed him differently or he was impatient, unreasonable and egotistical.

GEORGE Lee has made an eejit of himself. The biggest loser in George Lee’s series of decisions to exit RTÉ and now return is himself. He has reduced his broadcasting and political careers to a media circus. Within a week, this will have evaporated.

BUSINESS strategy has three fundamentals: grow revenue, maintain margins and cut costs. Ireland Inc is now reducing its cost base with unprecedented deflation of 5% over the past year. The public finances trade at a monthly loss of €2bn and the first budgetary steps were taken to arrest this fiscal deficit.

WHY have domestic politics become so boring? Last year, since the local and European elections, there has been a palpable sense of tension and uncertainty within the Dáil and Government.

RECENT public debate about the banking inquiry has failed to highlight the role of property developers as culprits. The explosion of bank credit from 2002 to 2008 and laxity failure by our regulators have been well documented.

THE resistance to a formal inquiry into the collapse of our banking system needs to be confronted head on. Taxpayers are mortgaging their children’s future to preserve Irish financial institutions.

AS a new year unfolds, the next phase of the recession will be more brutal. At every level, be it household, business or nationally, we have been busily adjusting our expenditure in line with reduced incomes and revenue. As the situation deteriorated, we kept our focus on survival. Each situation eventually stabilises.

TODAY is the last day of the noughties decade. Many milestone events have occurred in politics, economics and global affairs.

OUT here in the real economy, the worldly-wise knew in mid-2007 that the Celtic Tiger was dead. Property prices started to fall, spending slowed, job losses accelerated and business sentiment turned sour.