Ahern leadership - How long can FF afford to stay loyal?

AS THE Taoiseach faces a death by a thousand cuts, he can take some consolation in the fact that he cannot have too many more to endure.

However, we cannot take any consolation in the fact that our country is being led by a man whose popularity and credibility threatens to plummet below the point which guarantees the moral authority required to be an effective leader.

The man who was once a most popular leader and individual is utterly undermined by his own ambiguity at the Mahon Tribunal — only one in seven of the people surveyed by The Irish Times believe that he has given the full picture regarding his finances to the Mahon Tribunal.