Ireland's involvement in a joint bid for the European Championships is a political godsend for Scotland's first minister, even if it fails to provide adequate stadiums, Roddy Forsythe writes from Glasgow.
The first warning sign that Euro 2008 would be a game of political football rather than the real thing came last December 30th when Mr Jack McConnell, who had just succeeded Mr Henry McLeish as Scottish First Minister, agreed to take part in a BBC Scotland radio programme called Eye to Eye.
When pressed on the stadium issue there were three options - Scotland could host the event alone, or with Ireland or not at all.
He added that whichever choice was made would be the outcome of detailed cost-benefit analysis. Then he threw in the information that he had just quizzed 200 schoolchildren on their preferences - and they had unanimously assured him that they would prefer to see the money spent on youth sporting facilities and better healthcare.
When politicians start citing the social consciences of (non-voting) children, there is usually something in the wind. In this case it was a shift from Mr McLeish's commitment to a solo Scottish bid. Mr McLeish had been angered by the loss of the 2009 Ryder Cup to Celtic Manor in Wales and was determined not to permit Scotland to lose a second major sporting event - the more so since he was himself a former professional footballer, albeit with humble East Fife.
However, Mr McLeish's ministry foundered on a scandal which arose over whether he had claimed expenses honestly, an affair he handled so ineptly that he was rapidly unseated and replaced by Mr McConnell, a politician of a very different stripe.
For one thing, Mr McConnell - a tough operator from Scottish Labour's Lanarkshire heartland - does not like gesture politics.
His slogan is "do less, better" and, remembering how the comparatively modest redevelopment of Hampden Park, Scotland's national football stadium, had exposed the government of the day to unforeseen expenditure and public criticism, he was never willing to be drawn into commitment to hosting an event which would require eight state-of-the-art stadiums, not to mention significant spending on Scotland's transport infrastructure.
In addition, there are powerful elements within his party who are not attracted to the idea of paying privately-owned football clubs to reconstruct arenas largely for their own long-term benefit.
On the other hand, Mr McConnell did not want to write off such a high-profile project too readily. Happily, as his advisers swiftly noted, there was a get-out in the shape of Ireland. An Irish-Scottish joint bid had always been a possibility as far as the FAI and Scottish Football Association were concerned, although the SFA's clear preference was for a solo effort.
With Ireland on board, though, Mr McConnell's political flanks were guarded from attack. A joint bid meant that Scotland's commitment could be reduced to six stadiums and with Celtic Park, Hampden, Ibrox and Murrayfield already offering 230,000 seats in modern, well-equipped grounds, further expenditure could be kept down to something like €100 million - but only if Ireland could come up with two arenas.
If the Irish were to meet their end of the bargain then Mr McConnell could keep dissenters within his own party at bay. But if Ireland could not deliver, then Mr McConnell would also be shielded.
He could say, after all, he had been prepared to commit Scotland to the provision of three-quarters of the necessary facilities and that if the Irish Government was unable to do the same with the remainder of the package - wouldn't that simply show what a complex business the whole project had been?
Moreover, Irish disarray wards off attacks from the Scottish National Party, by far the largest opposition grouping within the Scottish Parliament.
The SNP endlessly touts Ireland as a model of an independent state on the fringes of Europe, close to Scotland in traditions and culture, but if the Celtic Tiger cannot produce two modern stadiums to UEFA requirements, the Scottish nationalists will have to take refuge in silence.
The SNP's reaction to the most recent twist in events was carefully calibrated by Mr Mike Russell, the party's sports spokesman: "While I desperately want this bid to succeed, this latest setback highlights the considerable problems which have to be overcome. I don't think enough deep consideration was given to matters such as these when the bid was prepared. Of course, there's a chance that it will still succeed but news like this doesn't help and no amount of Jack McConnell's spin will change that".
Tuesday's developments in Dublin came as no surprise to either Mr McConnell or the SFA - although the official line from both is that matters are still on track because Scotland is still ahead on completed venues and can demonstrate the capacity to deliver its other two grounds, while Ireland has only to demonstrate its willingness to do so later this year.
Mr Simon Lyons, the Scottish-based Irishman who heads up the joint bid, said: "We are still on course and confident that the UEFA inspection team will recognise the merits of our bid. We do not need to designate our selected stadiums until UEFA is ready to vote on the issue in December."
However, with UEFA already openly pleased with the joint Austrian-Swiss bid for Euro 2008 - most of their venues are not in place but they have displayed a detailed timetable and powerful statements of commitment - the Celtic attempt is heading for the rocks fast.
If the Celtic bid fails, Jack McConnell is €100 million better off and somebody else will be to blame. Whether that is Bertie Ahern, Mary Harney or the GAA, it also means that Scotland's First Minister is unlikely to lose a single vote - or any sleep - over the issue.