So I am not alone in these thoughts!

In fact, there is increasing noise amongst the commentariat that with the huge change in party strengths and personnel, nothing will have changed if Labour do go into government with Fine Gael.

Indeed, the first amongst that species, Fintan O'Toole, in his op ed opinion piece adjacent to this, Martyn Turner, cartoon of yesterday, argues that unless substantial changes to the bail-out plan are agreed at the end of this month, Labour will go the way of the Greens (and Fianna Fail) at the next election.

Fourteen years in opposition has sharpened Labour's appetite for government but Gilmore is not a fool and is well able to make the same calculations as O'Toole and others.

While generally there is agreement that Labour will do the deal, the possibility remains that the talks will founder on the strength of Labour's demands and that FG will go it alone with the support of various independents and will calculate, with reasonable certainty, that Fiannna Fail are unlikely to upend them if they are sticking to the course set by themselves.

Labour could then operate as a strong opposition with every prospect of gaining substantially at the next election - even achieving their dream of becoming the largest party and Gilmore's of becoming taoiseach!

Otherwise, despite our best efforts at the polls, in the words of M. de Gaulle, Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.