Bad jokes, bad break-ups: open mike night at the Dáil

AS opposition leaders vied with each other to deliver killer one-liners, like would-be comedians at an open mike night, it was easy to believe that this Government has become one big joke.

The butt of most of the humour — brooding Justice Minister Michael McDowell — was notable by his absence from the Dáil yesterday, fuelling rumours he and Mary Harney have, like the Dáil, broken up.

Like Princess Diana trying to steal attention from her errant husband by wearing “that dress”, the Tánaiste sashayed into the chamber in a jacket boasting a shade of pink that could only be described as shocking.