Recent electoral history in the Republic has some valuable lessons for Jeffrey Donaldson, if he is considering setting up a breakaway party, says political analyst Noel Whelan:
The Progressive Democrats had a very good first general election, then fell back and have fluctuated since. Seventeen years later, O’Malley’s breakaway party survives, not least because they have been prepared to go into coalition with their founding leader’s political mothership. It’s a lesson Jeffrey Donaldson would do well to remember. Breakaway political parties are like faraway hills; they may look greener or in this case oranger but electoral success for them is still a steep climb.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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