What Cowen didn’t say says a lot

THERE were things Brian Cowen didn’t say yesterday. He didn’t say hebelieved the Taoiseach. He didn’t say Mr Ahern would ultimately be cleared of any allegation of wrongdoing.

For those reasons, some around Leinster House saw Mr Cowen’s performance as a less than spirited defence of the Taoiseach.

That is not to say Mr Cowen was subdued in his responses to the opposition. In fact, he was practically shouting at one stage and managed along the way to turn the word “gentleman” into a term of abuse.