Fine Gael taking the P ahead of the budget

Oh, what a party. With mandatory dayglo orange wrist bands sporting the upbeat message “Have A Great Day!” and heavy police presence, the Fine Gael national conference had something of the feel of an illegal 1990’s rave about it — just without the light sticks and artificial stimulants.

But this crowd did not need E, they were all hooked on P — positivity — indeed, just days before inflicting yet another misery budget on the country, you could say the whole party was taking the P.

That surge of desperate, almost manic, positivity was exemplified by the cringe-making Q and A session broadcast live by RTÉ Saturday morning which was so sycophantic it would have made North Korean TV blush.