Uneasy lies the head of Enda, King of Europe, as welfare wars rumble on

Behold Enda — King of Europe.

Well, not quite yet, it is still another 16 days until Ireland assumes the six-monthly rotating presidency of the European Council, but to hear some of his hangers-on talk, one would think Enda was about to become the most powerful man in Europe since Napoleon in 1812 — just before the French retreat from Moscow.

And to emphasis the point, there was our Enda beaming from the front cover of the glossy brochure provided to accompany the pre-EU summit meeting of leaders from the European People’s Parties (EPP) right-wing block — Mr Kenny’s jazz hands aloft in the photo as if to say in the manner of pop temptress Pink: “I’m coming up, so you better get the European People’s Party started.”