Sinn Féin gains set in context

MARY DUNDON joins a long list of seasoned political commentators who would claim that, in light of the local elections, Sinn Féin are now a “force to be reckoned with” (Irish Examiner, July 5).

Her comments serve only to add credence to the false claims of many Sinn Féin members that the recent elections represent some kind of seismic shift in the political landscape towards their unique brand of policy-free, protest-vote politics. A sober analysis of the election results conflicts sharply with this viewpoint.

It is true that Sinn Féin more than doubled their local authority representation but these gains must be kept in perspective. Doubling their numbers from a low base of a mere 24 seats is not the landslide they would have us believe.