Cowen discovers a day really is a long time in politics

IN 24 hours, everything changed, and changed utterly.

When the cabinet met on Sunday, the immediate focus was the bailout.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan had confirmed in a radio interview a couple of hours beforehand he would be seeking cabinet approval to apply for the bailout. The approval was a formality, of course. But the cabinet meeting was testy and bad-tempered nonetheless, according to senior advisers. But not because of the Greens, these advisers say.