THERE was a collective attack of nerves in the Shelbourne on Tuesday when RTE's Questions And Answers celebrated its 10th birthday. One of the biggest gatherings of politicians, party workers and media outside of Leinster House was sitting down to lunch when the lights were dimmed. A video collection of the programme's most controversial moments - the humour, the bloomers and the anger - put all present on a knife edge in case they featured.
Those chosen included the late Brian Lenihan on phoning the Aras, Mary Robinson on herself, Maire Geoghegan Quinn on the impossibility of coalition with Labour ever again, Michael Noonan and Mary Harney on divorce, Mary O'Rourke on abortion, MEP Pat Cox on thundering bastards in the Garda, Charlie McCreevy on not taking any more and Michael D Higgins on something incomprehensible.
In a way it was fortunate that the Taoiseach, John Bruton, wasn't there. This was the clip from him: "Very serious allegations were made by Dick Spring when he was in Opposition which led to the setting up of a beef tribunal, yet when he went before that tribunal he pleaded Dail privilege in order not to back up the allegations. He is sitting in Government with Albert Reynolds and put forward this doctrine of Cabinet confidentiality to prevent a tribunal established by the Dail from getting information that it needed. That is not high standards in public office in my view; it is not public accountability and it is not transparency." There was widespread laughter.