Bertie in cupboard ad backfires for newspaper

It seemed like a piece of marketing genius. Last month's controversial TV ad that featured former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern sitting in a cupboard drinking a cup of tea generated a huge amount of publicity for the News of the World.

But the costly TV ad campaign, that also featured crime hack Paul Williams in a fridge, appears to have backfired spectacularly.

The British tabloid recorded a massive drop in sales of 12,900 per week on the previous October and 4,493 copies on the September 2010 sale.

FF gearing up for election

Fianna Fáil TDs are eager to play down any prospect of a general election as they cling to the hope that they can get the December budget through the Dáil. Their best hope is that, if the coalition holds together for as long as possible, there may be an upturn in the economy and Fianna Fáil's seat losses may be limited.

But The Insider understands that there is a growing consensus within the party that if the budget is passed, the coalition will not survive long into the new year and a March election is on the cards. "At least 16 selection conventions have been organised for before Christmas and there have not been any up to now," said one Fianna Fáil councillor. "A lot of people in the party believe we could be gearing up for a general election."

New political party gets down to business

A few months ago, the Sunday Tribune covered the birth of a new political party called the Irish Democratic Party. The who? Exactly.

There has been a series of similar announcements from various groupings over the last two years without any of the new parties making any significant impact. In a bid to raise awareness about its movement, the Irish Democratic Party is holding a public meeting entitled 'Rebuilding Our Republic' this Tuesday, 16 November at 8pm at the Church Bar, Mary Street, Dublin 1. "We intend to outline our core values and political reform policies, as well as gauge reaction from the audience, and hopefully sign up new members as well," said party chair Ciarán O Floinn.