Last Friday 13th hit Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, hard. At 7.30 a.m. he was on Morning Ire- land delivering his U-turn on credit unions. On his way to the office the State car broke down. In his Kildare constituency in the afternoon his car went into a pothole and the wheel buckled. As he prepared for his interview with RTE's Six-One news that evening, again from Kildare, the studio informed him that his jacket strobed on television. He would have to get another. No one in the office had anything suitable, so he was reduced to borrowing one in the pub next door. Next month there is also a Friday 13th. Is it possible that the by-election counts could run on to the 13th and there could be more bad news for Charlie?