Cowen hardly likely to follow Reynolds’ line

IN 1992, when Albert Reynolds became taoiseach, he famously sacked eight ministers in a radical cabinet overhaul – and created a number of powerful enemies in the process.

Within certain quarters of Fianna Fáil, that purge is still regarded as a textbook political howler.

Reynolds may have decided he wanted allies around him at the cabinet table but, as the old political maxim goes, “you keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. By ditching his enemies in such cavalier fashion, Reynolds was simply ensuring trouble for his leadership down the line.