For some time now, Drapier has been concerned by the "crisis a week" attitude pervading the Order of Business and Leaders' Questions. It often seems that the clamour in the Dail is in inverse proportion to the level of real public concern. The daily prediction that "the sky is falling" has become tiresome, even for those of us who are professionally involved.
Drapier has been concerned that these mock skirmishes, a bit like the boy who cried wolf, have reached such a level that we would not recognise a real crisis when it came along. Two came along this week and, to everyone's credit, were recognised on sight.
The first was at Wednesday's Order of Business where both main opposition leaders went on the offensive on the teachers' strike. Despite the great thought and the eloquence of which both are capable, they still managed completely to misread the national mood. In reply, Bertie Ahern put in what has been widely hailed as one of his finest Dail performances - managing to be resolute, conciliatory and completely in charge all at the same time. Contrary to the oft made claims of Bertiespeak, he told it as it was - inducing near euphoria in the troops behind him.
Thursday brought the horrendous news from Louth we had all dreaded.
Only a few minutes after hearing the test results, Bertie was on his feet in the chamber. It was another assured performance, to the point and appropriate. "If you can keep your head when all around are losing theirs. . ." The news clearly shocked all present, not least local TD Seamus Kirk, who looked devastated. The bar talk afterwards was dominated by the potential impact of footand-mouth disease. Most parliamentary veterans agreed that Bertie has played a blinder. Despite, even perhaps because of, four years of an ever more shrill "Get Bertie" campaign, he is now the dominant figure in Irish politics.
Up to a couple of weeks ago there was an emerging consensus, among the almost record plethora of political journalists now reporting our proceedings, that the Government would be bruised and buffeted by both the teachers' strike and foot-and-mouth scare.
Well they could not have been further from the truth. The almost unprecedented level of public support for, and co-operation with, the anti-foot-and-mouth campaign has even meant that the ever able and sharp Alan Dukes has given up trying to claim that the Government merits our opprobrium on the issue.
Turning to the teachers, the question among colleagues was whether anyone could remember a more incompetent strategy than the one foisted on a set of ASTI officials, who are widely viewed as being among the best in the business. They must now engage themselves in the tricky business of getting themselves off the hook they hoisted themselves on to. Signs are that process has begun.
A couple of weeks ago Fine Gael thought it had solved its electoral problems by dumping John Bruton. It is quickly discovering that Michael Noonan is no political alchemist. Though Jim Mitchell's clandestine poll-taking friends could probably have told it that many weeks ago. Tom Hayes will probably still win in Tipp South, but no one believes a new dawn has arrived.
As for Labour, the new dawn it heralded in 1998 just isn't registering either. Indeed, it is increasingly hard to detect its core strategy. It's certainly not Tony Blair's or Gerhard Schroder's Third Way. Every other mainstream left party in Europe is arguing its case from the centre, but our Labour Party is spending more and more time preaching the oldtime religion of the 1960s. Only part of this seems to stem from the merger with former adherents of the hard left.
The problem is that people have heard it all before. There are those of us who can remember the boast: "The Seventies will be Socialist." Drapier will resist the temptation to rejoin that the socialists are now 70, but people look at the progress of the last few years and see that other approaches have been more valid.
Drapier would warn his friends in Labour against getting drawn too far down this road - dogmatic ideologies have never appealed to the electorate in the past, there is no evidence to suggest they will now. Labour's call for negotiations with the ASTI and a downpayment on its claim cannot have pleased its friends in ICTU, who know that this would spell the end of the PPF. Rois in Shortall came a cropper on this issue on a recent Prime Time programme when she tried facing both directions at once.
Indeed, there have been some dark mutterings in corners that Labour would quite like to see the agreement collapse, be it through pressure from the unions or from community and voluntary groups such as the Conference of Religious of Ireland - which is taking an increasingly orthodox left approach to most issues.
What many observers have failed to grasp is that it is Ruairi Quinn himself who is taking the lead in all this. His Order of Business performances are perplexing to many about the House. Just about everything, it seems, should be treated as an unprecedented threat to the ethical and social fabric of society. Labour's corporate donations campaign is still where it was six months ago.
Meanwhile, the contrary "it's the size not the source" argument gains credibility as we realise that a lot of the transactions being investigated in Dublin Castle involve personal cheques, not corporate donations.
Drapier has always been, and remains, very fond of Ruairi. He is a gentle, personable and considerate man - which makes it all the more amazing that his advisers are willing to let him come across in public as arrogant and, at times, even pompous.
The Government has its problems, too. Many Ministers seem to be coasting along and few ever stray beyond their Departmental briefs. All very well for now, but no use when you get near an election and every issue becomes purely political. Drapier expects to see a few small fires lit under some Ministers over the coming months.
Charlie McCreevy - whose O'Flaherty nightmare seems already very distant - has been seen smirking during debates on the Finance Bill. Most people have come to the belief that he feels he has finally won his tax arguments. Fine Gael and Labour have roundly attacked all of his reductions and reforms but are refusing to commit to reversing them. The most they will volunteer is the idea that further relief will be targeted in a different way.
The scale of levelling up which would be required to undo individualisation alone means that they will either have to concentrate all tax relief on middle-class families with a stay-at-home spouse or raise tax on someone else to give any relief to the lower paid. It's the only way the sums even begin to add up. Expect a lot more sparring on this issue in the run-up to December's election Budget.
Finally, you may recall that not many moons ago Drapier cautioned the Abbey luvvies that their move to Dublin 4 was one farce that would not make it into production. Unwisely, Drapier was ignored. No sooner had Ben Barnes announced the evacuation of Abbey Street than a Scud missile was launched from Government Buildings. Ben Barnes has not only established himself as the Bernard O'Byrne of Irish theatre, he also shares the same expensive corporate advisers. And to think that Drapier's advice is free!