Voting And The Assembly

Sir, - Why all the surprise about the Alliance Party's decision to have some of its members assigned as unionists in order to…

Sir, - Why all the surprise about the Alliance Party's decision to have some of its members assigned as unionists in order to secure David Trimble's election as First Minister? In maintaining the status quo in the North for so many years, the Alliance Party has always supported the union.

For Kevin Myers (An Irishman's Diary, November 7th), to describe the redesignation as "an electoral fraud" is at best disingenuous. The one party in the North which is best qualified to give lessons in expediency - not to mention spoiling tactics - is the DUP, led by the irascible Ian Paisley. - Yours, etc.,

Mike Cullen, Sandycove, Co Dublin.