First signs of strain appear in Coalition

UP until recently, the Government was having a reasonably comfortable time of it. No major gaffes. No indication of public outrage at the U-turns they had already performed. The Queen of England and the US President coming to visit and lending a bit of cheer. Everything had been going swimmingly. But in the last week to 10 days, the first signs of strain have begun to appear.

It started with Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton’s proposals to reform wage-setting mechanisms in the private sector. Labour had agreed to the need for reform, but not the particular reforms Mr Bruton was proposing.

Nor did they like the fact that his proposals leaked into the public domain before the Cabinet had finished discussing the issue.