Fianna Fáil’s leader - Merit in a clean break

THE question of whether the next leader of Fianna Fáil will ever be Taoiseach is more than a moot point.

That it can even be asked underlines how low the party’s stock has fallen.

The weekend declaration from Mary Hanafin that she would stand against Micheál Martin in a leadership race adds to speculation that always surrounds these matters and confirms, as if it was needed, that Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s race is run.