Elaine Loughlin: Results of Holly experiment due in the next few months

For the Social Democrats, the upcoming local elections are equivalent to the difficult second album, writes Elaine Loughlin

Election litmus test: Holly Cairns is the young, new leader of a newish party, the Social Democrats, and it will not be easy for her to increase their presence in local councils and in the Dáil. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

A year on since ‘Hollymania’ swept the country, the Cairns experiment is yet to have an outcome.

While Holly Cairns, the Social Democrats leader, has both enjoyed and endured significant media attention since taking over last March, her opponents can’t quite figure out her way of doing politics, which ignores some norms.