Alex Massie

Is David Cameron a hawk or a dove? And how useful is that question anyway? I suspect the answers are "more of a hawk than not" and "not much". The Prime Minister has not, shall we say, been at his best vis a vis Libya. Then again, foreign policy is not his longest-suit as anyone who recalls his reckless - and pointless - response to the mini-crisis in South Ossettia. His Dash to Tbilisi was straight from the pages of the John McCain Foreign Policy Manual, substituting feel-good sloganising and photo ops for measured calculations of both the national interest and anything Britain could practically or usefully do. Something similar may be said of his call earlier this week for a No-Fly Zone across the skies above Libya.

They're still counting the results of the Irish election but it's clear that, as expected, the story of the day is Fianna Fail's collapse. Enda Kenny, who's not half as youthful as he looks (he's the Father of the House and has been a TD since 1975), will be Taoiseach but the election of 75 or so Fine Gael TD's should not be taken as much of an endorsement of Fine Gael's policies, far less as support for fiscal austerity or, frankly, much else. Fianna Fail has mislaid half a million votes since they won 78 seats on 41% of the vote in 2007. Fianna Fail's vote has collapsed to 17% of first preferences. Those votes have been more or less equally divided between Fine Gael, Labour and Independents (some of whom are lapsed or disgruntled Fianna Fail men).

Irish Policeman Ronan McNamara and presiding electoral officer Hugh O'Donnell carry the ballot box from the ferry on Inishfree Island, off the Donegal coast of Ireland. It will not surprise you that Myles na Gopaleen had it right: The majority of the members of the Irish parliament are professional politicians, in the sense that otherwise they would not be given jobs minding mice at the crossroads. Sadly Myles does not tell us if there would be comely maidens dancing at the crossroads too but there you go. Today's Irish election is a queer thing indeed. Many observers have commented on a surprising lack of fury given the scale of the financial burden that must be borne these next ten or more years.

That's the question Jeff Breslin asks at Better Nation and, as a bonus, he gets the answer right too: Alex Salmond. In truth, it's not a difficult question no matter how one approaches it. From a governance perspective the SNP have been modestly underwhelming. This still represents a major advance from the days of the Labour-Lib Dem coalition that preceded them. Nor is there any reason to hope for anything this time around from a Labour party actively hostile to anything that might even be mistaken for a fresh idea. On those grounds alone, a Labour minority ministry in Edinburgh is a dreary prospect. The Scottish elections in May are likely - nay bound! - to be interpreted in a UK context by much of the London press. They shouldn't be but they will be.

Courtesy of RTE's The Eleventh Hour. As the lads say, "Mistakes have been made. But in the right hands the mistakes of the past can be a valuable asset in excusing the mistakes of the future." Thanks to the many friends and readers who pointed this out. More from Ireland to come. And sorry for light-posting here. This is due to a) idleness, b) the need to read a book I am reviewing c) watching Colonel Gaddafi and d) organising a trip to Dublin.