A new baby in the house makes bargaining pointless

The effect of a new baby in a house is like the presence of the troika in the country. There is no bargaining power, writes Colm O’Regan

Negotiation: there’s going to be a lot of it. After the election there are numerous permutations of negotiating partners. Some are more serious than others. Enda may call Gerry Adams and say something like “Look, I have to ask…” and Gerry will reply with “I know” and they’ll both start laughing.

Eventually some combinations will get down to business, which is apt because “negotiate” comes from the Latin for ‘not leisure’ which shows the Romans had their priorities right. They aren’t always right though. Coalition originates from “grow together” whereas in Ireland it means “to be consumed in the fiery flames of public anger together”