The Commission on Taxation which was formed in March 2008 has finally presented its findings and the howls from Joe Public were immediate, loud and sustained. Government should be on notice that anything approaching full implementation could lead to civil unrest.

Business needs a tax regimen that protects the interests of enterprise and penalises waste. And all of this activity is building towards the December budget when the aberrations of the past decade and their consequences will be met with a remedy that will determine how quickly the country can correct its perilous downward economic spiral.

What influences us in the midst of all of this is the performance of our politicians, who have to debate the different strands to the argument, defend or attack and try, we hope, to balance their party political needs with those of the nation.

The taoiseach dealt poorly with the substantive issues on last week's Late Late Show, hindered by an (unintentionally) ill-mannered approach by its new presenter, Ryan Tubridy, which made it impossible for Brian cowen to get beyond two sentences before the next question arrived. The finance minister had earlier in the week been subjected to an even more disruptive approach, bordering on the hysterical, by Mark Little on Primetime. Richard Bruton manfully fought his corner on FG's counterproposals against a double attack from, of all people, two former leaders of his own party.

Business leaders are starting to emerge with their own perspectives. Renewable energy man Eddie O'Connor's Lee-esque dismissal of the government as "that crowd that has got us into this mess" was inaccurate, unwise and cheap. Such emotional language also failed to serve the cause of a yes vote for Lisbon, which was the reason he was interviewed in the first place.

Cork developer Michael O'Flynn's plea that developers should be consulted on how best to deal with the mess was brave but necessary. Only in Ireland would we would try to solve a problem without involving those who are most knowledgeable on the issue and who have most to gain from seeing it dealt with. There appears to be a perverse need to isolate all developers as if they alone are the cause of our downfall and as if, by removing them, we can better address the difficulties arising from over-development.

Another business luminary to proffer a view on these contentious matters was Gerry Robinson who, in his usual measured terms, put the misdemeanours in the context of the time and reminded us that, as recently as two years ago, very few people wanted the growth and the naked ambition to stop and that we all carry responsibility for the mess of today.

All of this activity and media comment has to be seen in the context of a level of political uncertainty unparalleled in modern Ireland. The bile being directed at the government is certainly unprecedented. It is being driven by the opposition, and the more complicated matters become and the greater the budgetary disciplines that will be required, the harder it is to see how this government can survive. And yet there are some signs that we might just be surprised.

The Greens, despite the wobble of a few weeks ago, seem determined to see it through, or at least not to abandon government unless there is no alternative. The party has now taken the high ground on Nama and has set its stall on the revised approach, protecting the inherent ambition of the process but enshrining politically important protections in legislation. The media performance of Eamon Ryan last week was commanding and reassuring for those of us who want to avoid an election at all costs.

Across the political floor, Labour is outperforming Fine Gael, and interestingly, despite occasional utterances to the contrary, does not seem in any rush to push this government out of office. Timing is everything here and the Labour leadership will know that its interests would be better served by a move next year, after the government has introduced its budget and as the finance bill is moved through the Oireachtas. An election in advance of the toughest budget in the history of the state would mean it would fall to Richard Bruton or Joan Burton to introduce it, and not a single politician in Leinster House is unaware of how politically risky that might be. It would be much better to leave Fianna Fáil at it.

A move in the new year would bring about the desired result, and any revised budget brought in by a new government would then be seen in the context of the failures of the outgoing administration, which could be profiled as being responsible both for the problem and for the initial budgetary approach to solving it. Labour has the measure of the current administration.

Brian Cowen and his advisers must know the game is nearly up and that their path is littered with political landmines. This government's greatest asset is the depth of its unpopularity. Short of bringing back capital punishment, there is not much it could do to lose more appeal with the electorate. Cowen and co are "toast", to use a favourite term of a Labour party friend, and yet their only chance of salvation is to acknowledge this and implement the changes necessary without any fear of the public reaction. That is precisely the type of government we need.