A realignment on the left?

Sir, – Michael McDowell says “Ivana and Holly badly need to talk” (“Sinn Féin collapse does not mean voters want the current Government to get another run”, Opinion & Analysis, June 12th).

The facts are the Social Democrats increased their number of councillors across the country from 19 at the last election to 35 this time around.

They have doubled their number of councillors, going from five to 10, in the 63-seat Dublin City Council and are now the second largest party on the council.

They have tripled the number of councillors on Cork County Council and made a breakthrough in Cork City Council. They have doubled the number of councillors in Limerick City Council and Galway City Council. In Kildare, they have nearly doubled the number of councillors, going from four to seven. In Wicklow they have tripled the number of councillors from one to three, all of whom were first-time candidates.

Gerry Thornley: How about an alternative look at Ireland’s Six Nations win over England?

Is Ireland anti-Semitic, an outlier of tolerance or in the middle ground?

How risky is it to buy a second-hand EV?

If that is a “poor outing” for Holly Cairns it would be interesting to know what your columnist thinks would have be a good outcome. – Is mise,

TOM McELLIGOTT,

Listowel,

Co Kerry.

A chara, – Brendan Corrigan (Letters, June 12th) writes to complain about the “leftist agenda” being peddled by both the media and political establishments and says that a strong right-wing group is required to counterbalance the left-wing leanings of the bigger parties.

What country is he thinking of?

Ireland has never had a left-wing government. Indeed, the two parties that have been in power since the creation of the State, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, are centre-right parties. If anything, it has been the lack of a credible “leftist agenda” that has left young Irish people despairing of ever owning their own home. – Is mise,

DON KAVANAGH,

Auckland,

New Zealand.