Stupor Tuesday sees crisis addicts go cold turkey

WITHOUT warning Stupor Tuesday suddenly threw the Government onto a non-emergency footing as 24 hours passed without a single significant sleaze allegation exploding at the Taoiseach’s feet.

In an extraordinary day — unprecedented in recent Dáil history — Bertie Ahern failed to make any U-turns on his tax status and no unexplained cheques/passports/bank lodgments seized the political agenda, leaving TDs reeling from the calmness of events.

The Taoiseach looked almost lost as he was left without a crisis to manage, a panic-induced statement to deliver or a twisting backtrack to make.