Balanced view on mayoral pact

In relation to the new mayoral agreement in Cork City and the role of Sinn Féin, I think it is important to present a balanced perspective.

A lot has been said and written (especially about the d’Hondt system) which is inaccurate and misleading and suggests that the system is not very well understood. In my view the new Cork City Council arrangement is a very loose variation of d’Hondt, but it does include a more inclusive approach.

Ultimately we are talking about local government so there is a duty on people to form alliances and voting arrangements to guarantee a majority and a government to run the affairs of the city. Sinn Féin has come in for heavy criticism and some of it is justified. After all the party has done what it said it would never do — strike a deal for the mayoralty (in the absence, apparently, of any deal about budgets). It can also be argued that having received a strong anti-austerity vote, Sinn Féin should have supported an anti-austerity councillor in the vote for lord mayor.