SF Should Have Told Voters About Their Mayoral Plans - AAA The Anti Austerity Alliance said this morning that Sinn Fein should have made it explicitly clear in their pre-May 23 election material in Cork that they intended to back Fianna Fail and Fine Gael candidates for Lord Mayor under the dHondt system. The dHondt agreement brokered by Sinn Fein with Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Independents meant that Sinn Feins 8 city councillors voted for Mary Shields and Kenneth OFlynn of Fianna Fail for the positions of Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor last Friday night. It will also mean that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will hold the mayoral position for 3 of the next 5 years despite having less than half the seats in Council. AAA Cllr Mick Barry said this morning: If Friday nights proceedings at City Hall had been televised they would have drawn gasps in homes around the city as 8 Sinn Fein councillors, one after the other, voted for candidates from the very same Fianna Fail party that they had campaigned against on the doorsteps a mere two weeks previously. Why did Sinn Fein not state on their election leaflets that this system might mean that they would end up voting for Fianna Fail candidates in last Fridays Mayoral vote? People are rightly cynical about establishment politics. Parties from outside the establishment should not add to that cynicism by actions of this kind. The AAA also criticised Sinn Fein Council Leader Chris OLearys press statement released after the vote Friday night which stated: The dHondt system can be used to turn Fianna Fail and Fine Gael away from the path of austerity and onto a socially progressive agenda that will address issues such as the housing crisis in this city. The AAA said that neither Fianna Fail or Fine Gael will play any progressive role on the new Council and that progress can only be made by building an anti austerity majority on the Council against the two conservative parties and seeking points of support for such a majority among progressive campaigns in the workplaces and communities of this city.
Posted on: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 08:21:09 +0000