Democracy takes Cullen down a peg on e-voting

Absent friends and new alliances played an intriguing role in the Government’s humiliating climbdown on electronic voting.

Getting together for the first time to collectively oppose a Government policy, Fine Gael, Labour and the Green Party almost instantly chalked up a minor victory.

Reminiscent of the far-off and long-forgotten days of the Rainbow Coalition, the leaders of the Blue, Red and Green alliance, Enda Kenny, Pat Rabbitte and Trevor Sargent stepped out side by side and showed marginal signs of actually getting their act together by putting up a united front to champion the cause of democracy.