Cowen and FF come out swinging but the damage has already been done

WHO next leads Fianna Fáil is no longer as important as it was once, but it remains very interesting nonetheless.

Brian Cowen’s successor may not get a chance to lead the country as Taoiseach for five years — or worse then might have to serve as Tánaiste in a coalition government led by another party as the only back into power. What makes things even more interesting is that the responsibility may fall upon him or her to ensure that Fianna Fáil does not remain out of power for a generation or, at a push, withers and dies.

The most pressing immediate issue for putative successors is when he or she would want to take the “prize” — and that, no matter how bad the situation is how it would be regarded by those who are imbued in the Fianna Fáil tradition.