Chalk and cheese: why the Simon Harris and Jack Chambers relationship is crucial to any cut-and-run autumn election

Jack Chambers receives his seal of office from President Michael D Higgins alongside Taoiseach Simon Harris. Photo: PA

Senan Molony

The personal relationship between Taoiseach Simon Harris and Finance Minister Jack Chambers of Fianna Fáil is now crucial to whether a general election will take place in the autumn.

The two men are chalk and cheese – Harris is characterised by a compulsion to act (which seems to give the lie to his repeated talk about staying the course), with Chambers seeming to embody the exquisite caution that has got him this far.