Soap opera finale as leaders shake on it

IT WAS a bit like that episode of EastEnders where Den and Angie decided to give it another go one last time.

Sure, Dirty Den had been up to his old tricks again, but Angie knew she’d be a washed-up nobody without him to cling onto.

The soap opera which began with a whip-round in Manchester ended with a whimper in Government Buildings as the Tánaiste tried to cover his moral embarrassment by extracting a few ounces more of public penance from the tainted Taoiseach.