Seat losses destroy FF dominance on local councils

WE have lost the election, admitted Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday before candidly adding: "I have lost over 20% of my council seats."

It was not just seats that Fianna Fáil lost but control of the dozen or so county councils that it had secured in the 1999 election.

As FF and PD strategists survey the wreckage this week after the demolition of its strong local base, there will be precious little comfort to take from any of the results in any of the local authorities.