Putin knows his people better than Dev did his

Russian president Vladimir Putin says the referendum in Crimea was held “in full accordance with democratic procedures”. To win with 97% of the vote is no mean achievement.

Éamon de Valera famously said that to read the mind of the Irish electorate he had only “to look into his heart”. Our old chief often triumphed at the polls, but never came remotely close to winning 97% of the vote.

Clearly, Putin has perfected the art of “cardiac self-examination” to an extent that Dev couldn’t. But, then, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un was recently returned with 100% of the vote. Where did Putin slip up? Perhaps the 3% who dissented in Crimea are a “margin of error” and it would be simpler for all if we rounded the figure up to 100%.