WHEN Brian Cowen became Taoiseach, the litmus test of his style was whether he would reshuffle Mary Harney.

IN May 1940, when Britain had its back to the wall in World War II, Neville Chamberlain resigned as prime minister immediately after winning a vote of confidence in the House of Commons because he realised that the British people had lost their confidence in him and his policies.

AS the ‘No-No’ tribes disperse to their hugely diverse comfort zones after the nine-day booze-up to which they were electorally entitled, those of us who are committed to the literally essential strategy of Ireland in Europe must regroup.