Languishing third in the polls FF faces a bloodbath in June

Political Correspondent Paul O’Brien says the wheels have come fully off Cowen & Co’s wagon.

IF there was one consolation Fianna Fáil took from the disastrous local and European elections of 2004, it was that things couldn’t possibly get as bad again.

The lead-up to those elections had been dominated by a swell of bad feeling towards the Government. It manifested itself on election day, with Fianna Fáil losing 80 of its council seats. It was left with 302 councillors — enough to maintain its status as the largest party in the country in terms of council membership, but only just.