FIRST things first, Drapier wants to scotch the libellous rumour put about by the back page of one of last Sunday's papers. In a cryptic piece it was suggested that "yours truly" was the "drooling hack" who wandered drunkenly round a recent office party pestering a junior female colleague. Apparently, there is even a telephone tape recording of the pair involved during which the "drooling hack" bemoans his unrequited love.
Drapier can assure those in the paper that they are wrong. They may think they know who Drapier is but their informants are way off the mark. Just like an editor of another Sunday paper recently tried to suggest that he knew who Drapier is, the Sunday gossip columnist is suffering from a case of mistaken identity.
Much comment has been made concerning John O'Donoghue's recent outburst on abortion, and Drapier is not going to add to it, other than to say that it never ceases to intrigue Drapier how some commentators try to have it both ways.
They bemoan the fact that politicians do not speak their minds as often as they should. Indeed, it is often the cry that the major political parties use "the whip" to muzzle individual views and yet when someone like John O'Donoghue comes out and speaks his mind, these same commentators, just because his views do not equate with theirs, proceed to lambaste him.
It's often felt in Leinster House that the so called "liberals" are anything but liberal and pluralist when it comes to thought processes which do not concur with their own.
While Drapier's views on the particular issue are towards the other end of the spectrum from O'Donoghue's he does feel that it is wrong to endeavour to suppress views like O'Donoghue's, which obviously represent the opinions of quite a few people in the country, by putting him and his like down as fundamentalists.
IN a recent article, Dr Garret FitzGerald was giving us his views on the question of another referendum on abortion. In the article Dr FitzGerald stated that Fianna Fail "would seem to be the only group in the Dail that still has fundamentalists in its ranks".
Drapier would suggest that Dr FitzGerald is not on very solid ground here. Is he, for one minute, suggesting that there are not, in Fine Gael, people with similar views to John O'Donoghue's? If he thinks that Fianna Fail is alone in this view then he has a very short memory.
Is it not the case that Paddy Harte recently resigned the Fine Gael whip over the abortion information legislation and is it not the case that he is now "back in the fold"?
Again, while Drapier would not be on the same wavelength as O'Donoghue and Harte, Drapier feels that it is extremely illiberal to refer to people like these as fundamentalists.
Drapier also would pose the question: who got us into this mess in the first place? Who was in government in 1983?
There was little or no sign of Michael Lowry this week, nor indeed was there much sympathy for him either. Over the last number of weeks there had been a clear distancing by even some of his closest colleagues from him. This was particularly noticeable around the corridors and in the Chamber.
Drapier wonders if Lowry still means what he said on the night he resigned, when he called the Taoiseach his "best friend, my best friend for ever".
Lowry could now justifiably say to John Bruton, "Et tu, Brute?" We will have to wait some time to see if such fidelity is reciprocated by the Taoiseach. There is no one, but no one, who believes that in the event of Lowry being reelected as an Independent he will not continue to support Fine Gael, whether in government or in opposition.
There are two schools of thought as to whether Lowry would be brought back into the fold. Most of the Fianna Failers are adamant that the move by Bruton and Fine Gael is just a ploy, whereas even his closest friends in Fine Gael are giving the impression that a tie up again is extremely unlikely.
There is some speculation that. Michael Lowry may have difficulty mounting a campaign. He should not have any problem at least from a financial point of view because the recent changes in State monies to politicians may, in fact, improve his financial position.
Now that he is an Independent he is entitled to a much larger handout from the State coffers and if he is cute enough, by forming himself into a political party, say, known as the North Tipperary Fine Gael Independence Party, he would be entitled to an even greater share.
Readers may think that Drapier is only jesting, but stranger things have happened and he noticed at least one daily newspaper speculating this week that Lowry might form a new party called the Lowry Party. Drapier learns that if he was to do the latter he would receive somewhere in the region of £25,900 as expenses.
Drapier has heard it said by some of the larger parties which currently get a much lower amount per deputy on average that they could circumvent the rules in order to attain the maximum amount by setting up separate smaller groupings.
Readers should not laugh. Some members who, because they are members of a large party (and consequently do not get their hands on any of this money, because it goes to head office) are looking enviously at some of the smaller groupings, including the Greens and possibly Michael Lowry as an Independent, and are saying to themselves, "Aren't we fools?"
Now Drapier learns that the Electoral Bill is going to be foisted on us. This is the Bill which is proposing to allow political parties to raid the tax coffers (in the interests of democracy, of course!).
Drapier would warn those in Government who are pushing this Bill that they must face the "grim reaper on this if they are to insist. Those that have helped to created the public's (wrong) perception that politicians need to be carefully monitored are now expecting the payer to foot the bill for all the party-political paraphernalia that is endemic in Irish political life nowadays!.
LAST weekend's poll which that the Government parties are making a comeback and that the Opposition is slipping somewhat must be music to the three Government leaders.
While it is often said that political parties don't pay much heed to polls, that they only take note of the poll on election day, the fact is that polls now play a very large part in decision making. It is because of last weekend's poll that there was some speculation around the corridors that the Government would cut and run to the people fairly soon.
It has been suggested that Proinsias and Dick want to go now while the going is good, whereas John Bruton wants to hold out as long as possible. If Drapier had any say in it (which he hasn't) he would side with Dick and Proinsias on the basis that no one knows what banana skins are waiting around the corner.
Wednesday's bombshell by Mary Robinson may very well make the Government rethink its general election strategy. It was being suggested that the two elections could be held on the same day. But Drapier thinks not. The general election is like a runaway train, and this place has every sign of it.
Speculation as to who will be a candidate was rife. Fianna Fail has a wealth of possibles, while the rest will be scratching their heads again. But make no mistake about it the atmosphere around suggests little or no stomach for a fight (the impending general election is the determining factor on that). So don't be surprised if an agreed candidate emerges sooner rather than later.