Bloodbath fails to materialise as Kung Fu Lenihan spares the chops

Bruce Lee Cowen was on a mission to chase the recession outta town After all the fuss, the dire threats of carnage on Kildare Street, of ministerial body parts strewn along the corridors of power, of a wild-eyed, axe-wielding Brian Cowen chasing screaming departmental budgets through Government Buildings -- after all that, the denouement was a bit of a damp squib. There had been a sense of anticipation all day around Leinster House about how exactly the Taoiseach and his Minister for Finance planned to claw back the half a billion euro that had gone walkabouts from the mid-year Exchequer figures. But Brian was keeping schtum until the very last minute. After a lengthy Cabinet meeting, during which the dreaded bloodbath took place behind closed doors, he went straight to the Dail for Taoiseach's Questions. Enda Kenny and Eamon... [read full story]