Coalition shaken by 72-hour leaders’ standoff

THE coalition’s most fractious 72 hours began on Wednesday night when an enraged Michael McDowell faced down Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at a tense meeting after new sleaze allegations hit his premiership.

The Tánaiste is believed to have made it clear to Mr Ahern he would not defend him against the inevitable opposition onslaught over the latest twist in the saga when he was set to take Order of Business in the Dáil the next morning.

The two had another face-to-face encounter at 10.20am the following morning before Mr Ahern took the session instead of his deputy and dealt comprehensively with claims he had misled TDs by not mentioning that the man he bought his Drumcondra home from in 1997 had been at the infamous Manchester business dinner he took €10,000 for attending while Finance Minister in 1994.