The great betrayal

Never before has the dreary old triumvirate of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and Labour, those perennial half-pints, looked under greater threat - or so ill-equipped to anticipate and manage public opinion. This is all the more surprising if we allow our minds to wander back to 2011, when two-thirds of that old cartel rode a wave of populist sentiment all the way to Government Buildings. No Irish government has ever enjoyed a larger majority, but equally, no administration has ever so comprehensively squandered its mandate. From penalty points to water charges, funding cuts to tax hikes, The Great Betrayal is a cutting assessment of the upheavals, egos and scraps that helped this most unlikely of scenarios came to pass.