MR Michael Lowry dropped into defensive mode when Reuter news agency said that £200 million was the price a Swedish/Dutchconsortium was prepared to pay for a 35 per cent stake as a strategic partner in Telecom Eireann.

The Minister for Transport and Communications declared that the figure was inaccurate and was not the basis on which the process was going ahead. "And just in case journalists might approach the consortium for further clarification, the Minister waved a big stick.

He had signed confidentiality agreements with the parties to the negotiations, he said, and he expected them to honour those undertaking.

So Stig Johansson, the director of international investments for the Swedish owned phone company Telia, apologised, said he had been misquoted, and carefully buttoned his lip. Transparency and openness might be a feature of Swedish life, but it has yet to catch on here.

Coming on top of the gradual disappearance of the major international telecommunications players from the bidding arena, the price mentioned in relation to KPN/Telia the largest of the two surviving bidders was more than disappointing. It was politically embarrassing.

And Mr Lowry was under serious political pressure to recover the situation.

For months now Seamus Brennan has been on the case, harrying the Minister in the Dail and through a succession of public statements as the original Fianna Fail plan for the acquisition of a powerful strategic partner for Telecom Eireann began to unravel.

Mr Brennan pussy footed when it came to prescribing an alternative to the Government's strategy. But Bobby Molloy had no such inhibitions.

The Progressive Democrats spokesman wanted full blooded privatisation.

The Government's decision to retain a 65 per cent holding in Telecom had scared off most international interest", he said. The Government must abandon its attempt to dispose of a stake in Telecom by way of "a trade sale".

And if a bid of under £200 million wad accepted it would be tantamount to short changing the Irish taxpayer. Public flotation was the way to go, Mr Molloy insisted.

The Opposition parties agree publicly on one thing the existing tendering system should be abandoned. After that, there is confusion.

Mr Brennan proposes a full scale Dail debate with all the relevant reports and analyses costing the State £4 million to hand. But he gives no indication of where that debate might lead.

For neither Fianna Fail nor the Progressive Democrats are prepared to say the search for a strategic partner should be abandoned.

Instead, they point to a bid of £460 million made in 1994 by Cable & Wireless, for an unspecified share in Telecom. And they accuse Mr Lowry of making a dog's dinner of the whole thing.

It is an accusation the Minister rejects. The £460 million figure, he declares, was "made at the height of Albert Reynolds's special relationship with Lord Young" (the chairman of Cable & Wireless) and was nothing but "a teaser".

It was an indicative figure a hard financial bid had never been made and the offer came with "a whole range of conditions and a demand for a never ending monopoly Mr Lowry maintains.

All the elements of dirty political in fighting are sloshing about the place. Mr Brennan blames Mr Lowry for delays and strategic mistakes which, he says, caused British Telecom, AT&T, Cable & Wireless and other international players to withdraw.

Mr Lowry replies by blaming Brian Cowen and Fianna Fail for missed opportunities and for losing three valuable years in designing the process before Fine Gael entered Government.

Mr Molloy concentrates on the lack of bidding competition and ignores that privatising Telecom would not meet the company's requirement for a strategic partner.

Meanwhile, Labour and Democratic Left the dogs that don't hark in the night are accused of imposing an ideological fatwa on privatisation" by Michael McDowell.

There is a paragraph in the Programme for Government to bolster that claim. It declares State assets will not be sold except were it protects employment and is in the long term strategic interest of the company and its stake holders. Any resources released as a result will be used for job creation."

The sentiment is little different from that which informed Fianna Fail and Labour Party policy from 1992 to 1994. But it seems that when all the political froth is blown off the deal, the eventual price will be disappointing.

Two weeks ago, as British Telecom became the latest casualty in the race, Mr Lowry prepared for this when he told the Dail "Financial considerations or the size of the cheque has never been the overriding consideration." And last night he spoke of the need for "an alliance of technology, rather than a financial investment".

There is a minimum price, however. For the Minister has promised to reinvest £220 million of what is received in Telecom, with the balance going to the company's grossly underfunded pension scheme.

In mid April the second, negotiating stage of the tendering process take By the end of July final bids will be made.

Shortly afterwards Mr Lowry will recommend a choice of partner to Government. He has four months in which to sharpen up his act.