Minority government is a democratic success

Democracy is the only guarantor of the least political evil. People elect governments whom they think will do the least harm, but do it very well. In the final analysis, we are governed by the best of a bad lot.

The strongest bulwark of a democratic government is a healthy opposition. The distribution of the preference votes in this year’s general election has guaranteed no single party has an overall majority. That, in itself, can be a safeguard against a single party dictatorship.

The Irish electorate have an innate ability to use their particular brand of proportional representation very well. To use a modern management phrase, they ‘claim ownership of the system’. Their reward is that they can enjoy intensely the traditional spectator sport televised on election night as the results unfold.