There is little prospect of this wretched government losing office in 2013, but there is quite a prospect of defections, humiliations and betrayals, starting with abortion. By Vincent Browne.

Fine Gael's indifference to the promises it, and its leader, made on abortion is matched by its indifference to integrity.

That the promises made were ignorant and silly is immaterial.

That it should now insist that every one of its TDs and senators comply with its insistence on breaking those promises almost matches the cynicism of Eamon Gilmore and Pat Rabbitte in characterising Labour TDs and senators who break Labour election promises as "courageous".

The dishonour does not end with abortion.

Populism can be progressive or reactionary, democratic or authoritarian. But it is always a challenge to the status quo and is most powerful when a political or economic system is in crisis. By Eoin Ó Broin.

In his end of year review Sunday Business Post political editor Pat Leahy described Sinn Féin’s opposition to austerity in 2012 as “aggressive and populist”.

His description is one that has a broad currency among political commentators.

The charge of populism is rarely complimentary. It suggests a politics of pandering to the people irrespective of the costs. It pits popularity against wisdom and short-term political gain against long-term social and economic sustainability.

As a new year of political guff and spoofery dawns, we should forget Swedish-style taxes or childcare – what Ireland really needs is Swedish-style politicians. By Philip O'Connor.

2012 in Irish politics began as Ivor Callelly was arrested over false mobile phone receipts. As it went on Mick Wallace was found to have welched on VAT payments, and the name of Michael Lowry was never too far from the headlines.

All of these incidents were just the cherries on the usual pile of lies offered up by Irish politicians throughout the year, with the avid kite-flyers of the Government almost bettered by the opposition spivs that bankrupted the country and now crow about it.

Indeed, every time some sharp-suited spiv is spotted with his hand in the government expenses cookie jar, I’m reminded of what is quaintly known as “the Toblerone Affair” here in Sweden.

Both Fine Gael and Labour are as one in their determination to expel from their ranks any parliamentarian who votes in accordance with the pledges on which those two parties sought and obtained their mandates. By Vincent Browne.

Enda Kenny has reiterated that there will be no free vote on the abortion legislation which is to be introduced in the Dáil early next year.

He said: "Everybody who's elected to the Dáil has a constitutional duty and when they are members of a party like ours, a political duty.

"That's why we'll have a very calm, very rational, very considered, very sensitive and understanding discussion of all these things."

We should have known from the awful blather and bombast of the Labour manifesto that we were being set up for another con job. By Vincent Browne.

Just last year, in February of last year, they were talking of a new politics. No more the cronyism, stroke politics, abuses of corporate and political power.

The Labour manifesto for the election of that month spoke of a “historic choice” the Irish people had to make. It said at the beginning: “Together, on polling day, we can change the direction of our country.”

Further in, the manifesto dealt with “reform”. “Labour pledges that Ireland will never again be vulnerable to the kinds of abuses of corporate and political power that have risked our country’s sovereignty. To restore confidence at home and abroad in public governance, Ireland must make significant changes in the culture and framework within which business is conducted.” It spoke of restoring “our trust in democracy”.

The Debt Justice Action (DJA) campaign, of which I am a part, has just lodged an application with the Guinness Book of Records to recognise Ireland as having the world’s most expensive ever bank bailout.  A video accompanying the application can be viewed below.  The satirical intent behind the project is well captured by DJA member Diarmuid O’Flynn: “We’ve had a difficult few years here in Ireland.  Between the collapse of the banking system; Jedward at the Eurovision; and 1-6 at home to Germany, our reputation on the world stage is in tatters. That may be about to change”.

Even though there are another three years to go to an election, the goose is already cooked for many Labour TDs. By Vincent Browne.

Michael McGrath, the Fianna Fáil spokesman on finance, responding to the budget on 5 December, said: "Fine Gael [in the cabinet discussions] showed that its absolute priority in the budget is to protect those who have most. We are told the Labour Party made valiant efforts to protect households dependent on social protection but, clearly, it has failed.”

Interestingly, at this point, Ruairi Quinn intervened to say: "Not so."

Even those of us who might be sceptical about Quinn's denials of having earlier signalled to a parliamentary Labour Party meeting that he had no confidence in Minister for Health James Reilly might be disposed to accept his word on this - ie, that Labour did not make valiant efforts to protect households depending on social protection.

Ireland is still a very rich society - the problem is not how poor we are but how badly we distribute those riches. By Vincent Browne.

The Labour Party is right. Had Fine Gael got an overall majority in the 2011 election, last week’s budget would be much more unfair. Social welfare rates would be cut again, having been cut in the first Fine Gael budget of last year; child benefit would no longer be a universal payment; there would be no mansion charge, the cuts in health and education would be deeper.

So there is a point to Labour being in Government and the same is true of Labour’s role in the seven previous coalitions in which it participated – with Fine Gael in 1948-51, 1954-57, 1973-77, 1981-82, 1982-87, 1994-97 and with Fianna Fáil 1992-94.

But is that all Labour is about?