Greens squeak as the old and cold hit hard

THE best budget joke so far has to be: What do John Gormley and a caterpillar have in common? Answer: They are both Green and spineless.

A tad harsh, perhaps, but as with all humour, it is funny because there is some truth in it.

It was one thing for the Greens to stay silent during the embarrassingly drawn-out death pangs of Bertie Ahern’s premiership. The party held its collective nose at the sordidness of it all and looked away under the cover of saying it would wait for the verdict of Judge Mahon before delivering its own.