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BRIAN COWEN’S first 100 days as Taoiseach has coincided with two intense administrative and economic challenges that have shaken his selfconfidence and threatened the authority of Government. A further horrendous period like that and the public will begin to look around for a successor. It may not be fair, but the window of opportunity in which Mr Cowen can display his considerable political talents is closing rapidly.

Political leaders, no more than Napoleon’s generals, require a helping hand from Lady Luck. And while Bertie Ahern appeared to enjoy a special relationship with the lady in question, his successor has struggled to make her acquaintance. Now, having lost the Lisbon referendum and the benign regard of our EU neighbours; presided over a dramatic slowdown in the economy and failed to secure a new national wage agreement, Mr Cowen could do with her kind attentions.