Scramble for moral high ground after the fall

AFTER the fall, the fall-out.

The shock of a senior politician actually being forced to pay the price for behaviour that outraged the electorate engulfed Leinster House in the hours following John O’Donoghue’s resignation, leaving its occupants all scrambling for the moral high ground as the aftermath ripped home.

Mount Morality is a tricky peak to scale and, as usual, Fianna Fáil set off in totally the wrong direction when its leading ministers tried to rewrite history and portray Mr O’Donoghue as a martyred figure rather than a deeply compromised one. The rearguard attempt at reputation salvage only succeeded in proving once again this Cabinet is illiterate when it comes to reading the mood of the nation.