Bertie has shown his two best hands, but it’s all to play for yet

THIS time last year was politically dramatic. In mid-June there were local and European elections in which the hammering taken by Fianna Fáil in particular left many backbenchers reeling.

They fretted as they saw new Fine Gael faces emerge with strong mandates in local electoral areas and as they watched Sinn Féin improve dramatically in some parts of the country, especially Dublin city.

There were private and some public calls from FF backbenches for the Taoiseach to take urgent steps to address the situation. It quickly began to look as if their message, and indeed the electorate's message, was being heeded.