Councillor Forde adds to Sinn Fein’s southern brain drain…

As noted in our post Christmas blogburst, Dublin Sinn Fein councillor Killian Forde, defied the party whip… As noted in that same blogburst, the precedent suggested he would be punished for his efforts… His ‘crime’? Voting for a Labour party budget he had worked with them on… His reasons? Well, before P.ie broke the new (and we have independent confirmation of the resignation), he told the Herald he wanted to avoid being accused of ‘chancerism’… From the Herald report:

Sinn Fein councillors on the city council were under strict orders from the party’s hierarchy to oppose the budget. But Mr Forde, who is based in Donaghmede, ignored the dictat.He explained it would have been “chancerism” on his part had he voted against the document as he had spent weeks negotiating for the measures. “We’ve had so many years of ‘chancerism’ in Ireland. It would have been total chancerism if I had gone in there and voted against it. It would have been utterly cynical if I had voted against it,” he said.

Killian, as well as an early politico reader and commenter on Slugger, is not an inconsequential talent… He was moved into Mary Lou McDonald’s office in advance her bid for a Dail seat with a view to taking over from her when she made Leinster House… As we asked on Monday, can Sinn Fein afford to ‘punish’ such talent when they have so few?

Their five councillors now number just four…