Bertie

Vs

Beardy

While it is clear that on their home turf the "Soldiers of Destiny" gave SF a beating there is no doubt that they could learn a thing or to from SF in regards to electoral discipline. Had they managed votes better there's no doubt that they could brought more of their partners with them. For example, Willie O'Dea who we all know as brilliant local politician was re-elected with 2 quotas. I'm sure his running partner Mr. Noreen could have used a few of those. Bertie was also well over quota with around 5,800 votes to spare. Had those five thousand votes gone to Mary Fitzpatrick she would have been over quota. Now I'm aware that there has been some controversy in regards to Dublin Central and transfers there but really even then you have to wonder WTF? Gerry had under two thousand extra votes thereby delivering a coup unmatched by any other party in Ireland.


Now I'm not trying to diminish the fact that Sinn Fein took a good beating but the brash hubris shown by FF really is something else all together. If I wasn't in the second term of the Bush administration I'd pass comment on the typical Irish voter, but things being what they are I must be content to pass comment on politicians themselves.

This may sound like knitpicking but lets face it six seats are a lot easier to fill than eight (and there could be more but I'm too lazy to do every constituency). P.ie is certainly the place to look for the post election gossip about the numbers. Hard to see how the PDs and Greens could get along, even with some Indies thrown in. And as Cochrane noted, it's not just about crunching the numbers but about a creating a stable government over the next five years. There can be no doubt that the PDs were FF's whipping boy in this election. Could it be on the cards that FF want the Greens to take the fall when the Tiger is tamed?