Only thing Cowen has left to lose is the election

AFTER losing control of the economy, the respect of the voters and even what was left of loyalty to him within Fianna Fáil, Brian Cowen now knows he has only one thing further to lose — the general election. And he’s determined to put that date with disaster off for as long as possible.

As Cabinet colleagues scent political blood like circling sharks waiting for the precise moment to strike, and junior ministers openly jockey for post-Cowen position, the caretaker Taoiseach is already being air-brushed from history.

He remains Fianna Fáil chief purely because no one else wants to lead the party’s bedraggled and beaten-down soldiers to their electoral destiny.