You wouldn’t blame Micheál Martin if he had piped some D:Ream into the old earbuds this morning.
The 90s popsters’ anthemic Things Can Only Get Better has been a soothing musical balm to many a weary soul over the years.
The Business Post opinion poll over the weekend showing Fianna Fáil on 15 per cent made for grim reading - and the poll number was a hair’s breadth from the party’s nadir of 14 per cent recorded almost two years ago.
And there isn’t even the fallback of suggesting the slump was well within the margin of error - with support for the Soldiers of Destiny falling 3 per cent in the month.
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To compound things, the poll suggested almost four in five Irish voters would rather not see Martin in the Taoiseach’s chair the next time the rotation comes round.
If he was looking for a pick-me-up, the news that he might have to entertain Donald Trump in Doonbeg in September for the Irish Open may not do the trick.
Not only that, but Donald’s young fella Eric says he would love to see a “Trump Tower” built in Dublin. However, speaking to the Sunday Independent, he also bemoaned those damned rules and regulations here that tend to stymie such ambitious projects - so that might not happen.
Has the EU learned that a tougher line might work with Donald Trump?
Sinn Féin says it would oppose any Trump visit and stage protests against him - while the Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik yesterday called for no shamrock bowl events or Oval Office meet-and-greet in Washington if Trump is still “threatening” Europe come March.
The killing of a second US civilian by immigration officers in Minneapolis has only compounded Trump’s toxicity among Irish pols.
Indeed, even some of Trump’s own party have broken ranks over the immigration crackdown - while some Democrats have said they are willing to tolerate a government shutdown in order to stop funding flowing to Immigration and Customs Enforcement - or Ice as we all now know it.
Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson weighed in this morning, decrying Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” as a “delusion of power” and something no “self-respecting country” could sign-up to.
Walking that old Trump tightrope gets more difficult by the day, it seems.
While Martin ponders all this - his team of special advisers will have ample time to digest the latest poll result.
The good news for the Taoiseach is that Fianna Fáil TDs appear to have kept their powder dry over the weekend. There was no rush to the airwaves to call for his removal - nor does anyone appear to have the appetite to inherit this cheery vista right now.
In unrelated news, the Minister for Justice was out last night, with Jim O’Callaghan confirming that 33 Polish and Lithuanian nationals were deported from the State on Sunday.
The 31 men and two women were flown out of the jurisdiction at a cost of €122,000, with the Department of Justice saying they all had received custodial sentences for a “range of criminal offences”.
O’Callaghan says he won’t fail to take action to uphold the law and enforce removal orders.
Speaking of removing things, a strategy for dealing with traffic congestion is due before Government soon.
Labour TD Mark Wall reveals he missed the start of the Dáil debate on his own motion about remote working last week - due to getting stuck on Dublin’s M50.
He recounts a 3½-hour journey from Athy to Kildare Street made hellish due to a breakdown on the ring road.
Getting Ireland moving again, you’d suspect, will get a mention at Farmleigh House later in the week.
The Taoiseach has arranged for his Ministers to outline their priorities for the year. Housing and infrastructure will be on the agenda. Minister for Energy Darragh O’Brien is first out the gate, it seems, with a new €5,600 grant for homeowners if they upgrade their windows and doors.
