Durkan has political triumph of his life

UNDER pressure SDLP leader Mark Durkan last night pulled off the political triumph of his life.

The former Stormont Deputy First Minister comfortably defeated senior Sinn Féin negotiator Mitchel McLaughlin in Foyle in a seat which republicans had aggressively targeted.

The victory came on the back of another coup for the SDLP, with deputy leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell becoming the first nationalist MP for South Belfast.

Dr McDonnell, a 55-year-old GP, who is originally from Cushendall in the Glens of Antrim, captured the South Belfast seat courtesy of a split unionist vote.

However, the party drew its greatest satisfaction from Mr Durkan's stunning success in Foyle, a Derry-based seat which his mentor, former leader John Hume made a citadel for the SDLP. Before the election, some political pundits were not only writing off Mr Durkan's ability to hang onto the seat but predicting meltdown for his party.

Mr Durkan's victory was a bitter blow to Sinn Féin, which believed it could win the seat in the post-John Hume era.

But it was also the product of a gargantuan canvassing effort to protect Foyle involving SDLP workers from all over the North.

Mr Durkan captured Foyle with a 5,597 majority, and in his acceptance speech, accused political opponents of claiming victory days in advance in tactics, he said, which were similar to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

The SDLP leader, an avid Manchester United fan, who was accompanied by his wife Jackie on the podium, said: "There has been some talk in this election about what Foyle would mean and what the significance of the Foyle result would mean.

"I was written off. The SDLP was written off.

People called this election two or three nights ago.

"I know it is a bit of a Jose Mourinho tactic to do it and show those sorts of tactics. But the fact is like Jose Mourinho, the result wasn't as it was called."