THE Irish showed a nice sense of the fitness of
things by voting Eamon de Valera into the Presidency but refusing to vote themselves out of Proportional Representa- tion. But the issue of PR versus the straight vote is relatively unimportant there; the real test in the next few years is whether Sean Lemass can create a new party pattern breaking away from the old pro- and anti- Treaty pattern. Although Mr. Lemass was 'out' in 1916 (as one of the youngest of the republican forces) he has always been a pragmatist, ill at ease among the more fervent little-Irelanders; he would be much more at home with some of the younger members of the opposition—most of whom are only in opposition because of the way their parents went in the civil war (there is a strong here- ditary element in the Dail). It will be inter- esting to see whether Mr. Lemass will be able to break down this old barrier; he must know that his future is uncertain if he fails to do so, for he lacks the mystique to succeed `Dev' as a vote-getter.
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