Elaine Byrne: The same as it was ever was

The 2011 general election was the first time since November 1982 that Fine Gael was elected to government. (John Bruton’s Rainbow Coalition entered government in 1994 by default, not by election.)

This 29-year wait for elected power put fighting talk into the Fine Gael mindset. Richard Bruton’s 2010 budget speech was typical of the blazing, fiery language of reform. Fine Gael would demonstrate “real leadership” and display the “determination and the courage to ...