Futuring: d’Hondt and the new Executive

As the outcome of the Assembly election firms up throughout the day thoughts will be drawn to d’Hondt and the eventual make up of a future Executive. Forget about a paper and pen, use this handy d’Hondt calculator to play with numbers. Blank

#ae11 Reveal your Assembly predictions

Mick has noted two prediction competitions for the Assembly election but didn’t make a call for Slugger’s friends, contributors and readers to risk their credibility and reveal their predictions publicly in advance. So folks lets be having you, your chance to be revealed as genius or the global village idiot…. Here are mine: DUP 36 SF 30 UUP 16 SDLP 14 Alliance 7 Green 1 TUV 1 PBPA 1 – McCann Purvis McFarland Blank

Pushing at boundaries

Great to see some politicos working outside comfort zones in their chase for votes. In the last day we’ve had Niall Ó Donnghaile out in Castlereagh helping his SF colleagues hunt those final ticks, Conall and the SDLP trying their luck in Belvoir and Mark Finlay and the UUP giving the Markets and Lower Ormeau a punt. So who else has been working an area not know for easy votes? (I’m still waiting 4 years for the APNI to canvass …

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Uachtarán na hÉireann – SF within a whisker of nominating a Presidential candidate?

With 14 TDs and now 3 Senators elect, SF are a mere 3 Oireachtas votes away from the magically twenty that permits nomination to the 26 county Presidential election. I have no idea if SF would want to face a heavily tipped David Norris but two things do stand out; -just how much some of those close run Dail contests SF missed out on can really matter (also losing former members like Thomas Pringle TD) -just how far they’ve come …

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Seanad Éireann 2011 – SF triple representation

With the elimation of Brophy on the 25th count of the Seanad Industrial and Commercial Panel that by my reckoning guarantees the election of SF’s 3rd Senator, Kathryn Reilly. As one of only three ‘inside’ candidates left she joins Trevor O’Cloctaraigh and David Cullinane in tripling SF’s representation on a Seanad their party wants abolished (others share the view and it is very possible). Sinn Fein’s other candidate, Eoin O’Broin, has admitted his showing in the NUI panel was poor …

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Seanad 2011

This election to the Seanad is bound to take some time, feel free to update via comments The five-seat Cultural and Educational panel is the first to return – FF drop one seat and Lab Gain. FG – Deidre Clune FF – Labhrás Ó Murchú FF – Thomas Byrne Labour – John Gilroy Fine Gael – Michael Mullins The Agricultural Panel is next, notably Martin Manseragh had a disasterous first count while Trevor Ó Clochartaigh of SF returned a real …

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Bill Craig dies aged 86

I’m not really the person to do justice to an In memoriam post for William Craig but as no one else has noted his death I’ll add this brief biography and thus create a thread for comment: Rt. Hon. William Craig, solicitor. Born in Cookstown, 2nd December 1924. Educated at Dungannon Royal School, Larne Grammar School, and Queen’s University, Belfast. Served in the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1946. Founder of Queen’s University Unionist Association in 1950. Admitted as …

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West Belfast: Eaten bread soon forgotten #ae11 #belw11

In 2007 it was impossible for anyone that follows local elections to be anything but impressed with Sinn Féin’s vote management in West Belfast; 4.9 quotas returning 5 candidates when one of them (Gerry Adams TD) was exceptionally high profile seemed to be delivered effortlessly (those that have worked campaign trails know it will have been anything but). This time round SF are attempting the same feat with slightly different circumstance – Adams is gone so their vote management strategy …

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DUP already planning for co-options?

DUP Getting it Right logo

During the final months of the last Assembly there was a steady stream of co-options as MLAs stood down and allowed potential successors to raise their profile. A similar situation was taking place at council level. It now seems extremely likely we will have a raft of co-options at Council level from the DUP at least immediately after the elections. They uniquely have stacked their Assembly slate with candidates also seeking election to Councils. 64% of their Assembly candidates are …

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Off with her head?

UPDATE – video of the ‘execution’: It has variously been described as tasteless, juvenile, pathetic, street theatre and much more – tomorrow éirígí intend to chop Elizabeth Windsor’s head off in the centre of Dublin. Blank

An honest broker?

Gerry Adams TD has been calling for talks with those that killed PSNI Constable Ronan Kerr. He, like his entire party, have been absolute and unambiguous in their comdemnation of those involved but Adams at least has now expanded his party’s attack to other groups that clearly have no connection to the death. One of these groups, éirígí, has responded and as a result revealed while SF claim a willingness to have discussions on republicanism with those currently and actively engaged in armed actions they …

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There are more than two shades of Green

Chris has provided a very useful analysis of what he sees as the main electoral battleground between the two forms of constitutional nationalism. One of the main areas of growth he suggested for SF was at council level. However, he overlooked that at this election SF will be facing numerous challenges across multiple councils from Republicans of various hues. In January I suggested 22 Council seats that dissenting Republicans could consider running in. While I didn’t get them all right, republicans will have a non-SF option …

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Bombscare: public in danger as PSNI deploy cones and withdraw to safety

Covering a bomb scare in Newry, Good Morning Ulster’s Conor MacAuley reported what he found at the scene:   There are road closed signs up, there are cones, some signs and lights, but I can’t see any police presence at the moment” “I have seen dozens of cars driving past this morning, some of them with small children in the back of their cars doing the school run. People obviously don’t realise the potential danger they are in [added emphasis …

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Clinton Centre breaches EU funding criteria?

As a result of Pete’s blog on the Clinton Centre, it seems Slugger may have accidentally discovered an EU project that has previously breached its funding criteria: We have taken advice in relation to the funding conditions and as a result are not in a position to host activity by any political party [added emphasis] The centre has hosted at least two events for the SDLP. So were they wrong in their rejection of the SF event or admitting they’ve …

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Take that (Mulley makes a bad call?)

As the north of Ireland’s twitterati attempt to trend #notinmyname the undisputed king of Irish social media says: Ah yes, a hashtag on twitter, take that Omagh murderers Blank

A provisional question – Cui bono?

In numerous books on the history of republicanism it has been claimed the provisional IRA curtailed operations when Sinn Fein were engaged in electoral contests. The ‘starting pistol’ for our current Council and Assembly elections was fired on 25th March 2011 Since then there seems to have been a sustained increase in failed bombings and hoaxes that mainly affect nationalist areas – those that will have a real republican option not SF; Derry Oldpark Andersonstown Lower Falls The list grows …

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I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum

Newly elected Louth TD Gerry Adams has distributed his party baubles: Mary-Lou is Deputy leader and Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform. Aengus Ó Snodaigh is Spokesperson on Social Protection and Party Whip Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin is Spokesperson on Health and Children. -he used to be Sinn Féin Dáil leader and party spokesperson on the Peace Process and the Six Counties and Health & Children. That is some demotion! Blank

Planet of the apes?

  After a 30 year absence from electoral politics the IRSP have announced they will be fielding 5 Council candidates. (though one has been running as an independent recently) Unfortunately their greeness seems to have resulted in the same strap line as that of the Conservatives and Ulster Unionists a mere 10 months ago – Vote for Change. They also state: We have deliberately chosen to not contest the Stormont elections as there does not exist an appetite within our …

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Dominic – computer says ‘kneel’

The SDLP’s main Irish language activist Doiminic O Brolcháin, Dominic Bradley on the SDLP and his own website, has clarified not a lot when it comes to filling in a census form in Irish: Initially he complained there was no Irish version of the form: In absence of an Irish version of the census form, I have asked Census 2011 if it’s legal to fill the English form in Irish. To date, I have had no response. But now Bradley …

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