Waiting for the tide of hope

There’s a growing tide of political excitement in the country. The trio of elections on June 5 is beginning to concentrate minds. RTE’s George Lee has thrown in his lot with Fine Gael, and opinion polls - in particular the monthly Sunday Business Post/Red C polls - point to levels of unpopularity for the Fianna Fáil party never before recorded.

Brian Cowen has just completed his first, hugely difficult, year as Taoiseach, and ...