Party time over as Lady Europe casts a watchful eye on her Irish offspring

OPPONENTS of proposals for a government of national unity or even a cross-party pact on the budget might rightly wonder why they bothered casting their vote at the last general election.

You support a candidate from a particular party that has a distinct set of policies and a healthy antagonism towards the other mug shots on the ballot sheet and the next thing you know they’re talking about setting aside their differences and hanging out with their rivals like teenage girls at a pyjama party.

But whether you take a pragmatic or indignant view of such a scenario, the reality is that it wouldn’t be the only challenge to the relevance of your precious box-ticking exercise. For whether the party ends in a zany group-photo on Facebook or one giant tear-stained pillow fight, the truth is that there is an external force which wields far more influence.