Government hits turbulence and Joan Burton seems to be waving goodbye

For Labour, it is hard to come to any conclusion other than it is tanking and needs a miracle now, writes Alison O’Connor.

Perseveration. It’s a term used to describe insistent repetition of a particular response such as a word, a gesture, or a phrase, and an inability to alter course from that.

I was introduced to the term recently, and it comes to mind now when I hear Taoiseach Enda Kenny repeating the mantra of “keeping the recovery going” and ditching the universal social charge (USC).