Selective analysis of pact politics

Firstly, I found it amusing and somewhat entertaining that in Deputy Buttimer’s detailed, but selective analysis of 34 years of pact politics on Cork City Council, he never mentioned the elephant in the room. Of course he could have simplified his analysis by admitting at least once that in every case since 1979 the pact was made up of the representatives of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour, to the exclusion of other elected members of the council.
Also absent from his narrative was the crucial distinction that this time around, it was up to mandated councillors to “opt out” of involvement in key decision-making positions. This welcome change comes as a result of the adoption of the democratic and inclusive D’Hondt system.