Time for Cowen to reveal plan for jump-starting economy

THERE is a formula for the revival of the flatlining economy lurking deep within the recesses of the Taoiseach’s brain.

But if Brian Cowen’s head were a crystal ball, unions and employers would struggle vainly to find a fortune teller who could fathom his intentions for the industrial relations landscape in 2009.

The social partners know they are a part of that equation. He just won’t tell them whether they are to be divided or ordered to go forth and multiply.