The Bell Tolls for Biffo

Back in the rare ould times you could always rely upon Fianna Fail’s instinct for self-preservation to kick-in and heaves against the party leadership were a reliably entertaining fixture of Irish political life. The remarkable aspect of this present crisis was that that, for a while at least, it looked as though Brian Cowen might somehow survive to lead his party to its looming Waterloo. Where, in the name of the father and all that’s holy, was the Fianna Fail of old?

So fair play to Micheal Martin, the foreign secretary, for doing his bit to wield the knife. It’s hard to imagine he’s the answer but he’s less obviously the wrong answer than poor, beleaguered, hapless Biffo. Martin confirmed today that he will vote against Cowen when a vote of no confidence in the Taoiseach’s leadership is tabled this week. Whether the rest of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party has the nous to join Martin remains to be seen.