It was a quiet week, with nobody happier than Bertie Ahern and the Government that the daily grind of question time and order of business are out of the way for the moment. Time too for the rest of us to catch up, to reflect a little on the bigger issues which tend to get swamped in the welter of day-to-day business.
By bigger issues Drapier means the sort of things his politically-minded friends like to talk about when they gather together for a quiet chat. And so it was this week that Drapier's friends, relaxing in Buswells, asked him about that undercurrent of instability he claimed to detect around the place last week.
"Sure, doesn't Donie Cassidy announce every day in the Seanad that this great Government is totally and completely united, mutual harmony, great respect, no question about not lasting the full five years and all that sort of thing?" asked Drapier's midland friend.
Drapier had to concede that he had indeed read the record of the Seanad, and yes, Donie had said all of the above, not once but several times.
`So what makes Donie so certain then?" persisted the friend.
"Well", said Drapier, "Donie has a matter-of-fact way of looking at the world. No flights of the imagination or any nonsense like that. It's a question of facts and figures and from where Donie sits the facts are clear and the figures add up. It's as simple as that."
"What facts?"
"Take the Independents for a start", said Drapier. `They are getting Rolls Royce treatment. The likes of it were never seen in here before. All they have to do is ask. And asking they are."
"But are they solid? Can Bertie depend on them? Surely a good opposition would raise issues which will embarrass them and force them to vote against the Government - at least from time to time. Haven't you got this private members' time and things like that?"
"Embarrassment is not the first word that comes to mind when we mention Jackie Healy- Rae. No, Jackie is having the time of his life. He never thought he would get to Leinster House and, had he run as a third Fianna Fail candidate as he wanted to, it's young O'Leary who would be the TD today. But Jackie got his chance and he is going to squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of it."
"But doesn't he lower the tone of the place with all his rural antics, the accent and that dreadful cap? Not to mention the hair?" sniffed the Dublin 4 lady as she nursed her spritzer.
"It depends on where you're sitting", replied Drapier. "If you're in Kerry he's the best thing in years. Nearly as good as an All-Ireland. And if you like a bit of colour and humanity, not to mention a good turn of phrase, then Jackie's your man.
"Jackie is a pure pol. Jackie knows that all politics is local - and Jackie delivers. Ministers hate to see him coming, but see him they must, and if they don't deliver, Bertie will soon know."
"I read somewhere that even the Fianna Fail backbenchers are coming to Jackie with their requests - especially for things that have been turned down already - is that true?" asked the midlander.
"Absolutely. And not just Fianna Fail TDs, but the other crowd as well. Jackie loves every bit of it, especially if he can have a dig at John O'Donoghue at the same time. No, Jackie is behind this Government and won't be shifted, tribunals or no tribunals."
"But what about the others?"
"Well, Harry Blaney is no spring chicken. He is happy to see the Blaney name in Leinster House - it's been here since 1927 and he is getting a full service from the Ministers. And if this Government is good enough for Gerry Adams and John Hume and the boys, then it's good enough for him. No problems there."
"And what about Mildred?"
"Mildred's instincts are basically Fianna Fail. She is a good constituency worker. She has good advisers and, as far as Drapier can see, she's happy with the current set-up. Again, it's a question of delivery."
"And this new man, the quiet fellow, what's his name?"
"You mean Tom Gildea - sure aren't the deflectors still in place? And they will stay there until the technology makes them irrelevant. He's in no great hurry either."
`So Donie is right then?'
`He's right about the Independents, I'll grant you that. But his instincts on the PDs mightn't be so good."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, it's like this. The facts seem clear enough. On paper at least the PDs seem to have run out of options. The polls have them on the floor, no public thanks for all their good work, no great respect for their high-mindedness.
"So what can they do but stick in, give it all they've got and hope things improve? In Donie's world turkeys don't vote for Christmas, and politicians don't precipitate an election they can't win, an election that might even prove terminal."
"So why are you talking about instability if the facts and numbers are as Donie thinks they are? What Donie is saying makes sense to me and to the lads in Kilbeggan."
"Anyone who makes predictions in this place is mad. It's as simple as that. Something is going to happen. There are too many loose cannons around, what with NIB, Ansbacher, the tribunals and every man looking after himself.
"Something is bound to give - a lie come back to haunt, a coverup, maybe even a genuine mistake of an earlier day now being seen in a different light. You can feel it in the place.
"In spite of Donie's assurances this place is jiggy - and if things get jiggy the PDs get even jiggier. It's in their make-up and some say it does them credit."
The midlander listened. He had seen Dessie O'Malley on Questions and Answers. That had shaken him a bit, Dessie's lack of enthusiasm for the present arrangement, that is.
Drapier thought he'd won the argument. But his midlands pal was not convinced. Midlands men are nothing if not persistent. He came back with his clincher.
"You can say what you like but I'm a Donie man meself. He's shrewder than the lot of you put together. If Donie says the Government is secure, that's good enough for me."
And that for the moment was that.