FF riding on tide of arrogance and hubris

FOR 18 months, when a series of opinion polls showed the Government parties doing badly, the reaction from Fianna Fáil ministers was predictable.

They either ignored the results or recycled Charles J Haughey’s line that the only opinion poll that really matters is the election.

But then came the autumn and BertieGate. And a funny thing happened. The veil lifted. The tide rose. The curtains were opened. Fianna Fáil, so long slumming it in the low 30s, suddenly shot up to 39% support in polls in the Irish Examiner, Irish Times, Sunday Business Post and the Sunday Tribune.