Did the brandy loosen a tongue or is it just all a puff of smoke?

IT MUST be the longest hang-over in history, but whatever the outcome of the brandy and cigars episode, if there is one, there is a very important point which should not be lost on Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, and about which there is absolutely no doubt.

It is this: The majority of the people in this country believe that any one of his ministers wouldn’t think twice about making off with €6,000 worth of booty, a la Long John Silver.

When the story broke last weekend, the only question in peoples’ minds was concerning the identity of the minister in question. About the only one who didn’t figure was Monica Lewinsky, who apparently has gone off cigars.