He came, he spoke (albeit briefly), and he got away, like a thief in the night, and one could almost hear the Taoiseach’s heels screeching as he negotiated the Dáil’s exit door, on his way to call on the President’s scepter to dissolve the chamber of power.
The 31st Dáil officially ceased to exist today. And after its doors closed, all TDs suddenly became ordinary citizens with one single idea in their minds: To beg, borrow, and steal anything it takes to get back in.
Enda and Joan had a bit of a thing going while at the steps in Government buildings. They posed for photographs, they sort of awkwardly shook hands, and then Enda hurried on towards Phoenix Park while Joan muttered a sad and choked up “bye bye”, as if her firstborn were on its way to the boat abroad.
The Taoiseach’s speedy departure from the chamber may turn out to be a prophetic omen to his likely ousting as Taoiseach in the near future.
And so it goes on, the staccato beat of Irish politics rising to a crescendo that will culminate on Friday, February 26.