Brinkmanship in Dublin – but at least Bill Clinton says Ireland will get through its crisis

The Irish finance minister Brian Lenihan may (or may not, depending which report you read) have been jeered by international investors and bond traders on a conference call last week, but he is
widely admired by his own business community, both for his determination to steer a straight course through the banking crisis and property crash that have overwhelmed the former ‘Celtic
Tiger’, and for his personal battle with pancreatic cancer.

The Irish finance minister Brian Lenihan may (or may not, depending which report you read) have been jeered by international investors and bond traders on a conference call last week, but he is
widely admired by his own business community, both for his determination to steer a straight course through the banking crisis and property crash that have overwhelmed the former ‘Celtic
Tiger’, and for his personal battle with pancreatic cancer. I rang two friends in Dublin this week and garnered matching sets of compliments for Lenihan — but very different
perspectives on his strategy.