Shinners delight in FF’s Friday 13th horror

IT should have been Brian Cowen’s big day, but as he emerged onto the steps of Government Buildings he looked for all the world like a bewildered groom jilted by the electorate he thought he knew so well.

As the flash bulbs exploded and the rolling news channels pulsed his words live across the continent, it appeared as if he did not know what to do next.

He spoke of uncharted waters, but it was clear the tide of public opinion those waters had flowed from had just smashed through his fledgling administration and now threatened to sweep away much of his credibility as Taoiseach with it.