The real story from Northern Ireland

Sinn Fein's win is big, but the rise of a moderate party might be more significant.

Before I get into details about the Northern Ireland elections, which resulted in the nationalist (and once IRA-adjacent) Sinn Fein holding more seats than any other party, here is what might be the greatest moment in Twitter history:

Almost makes that blighted social media platform worth it.

Anyway, I’m seeing the words “historic” and “seismic” used to describe the election results, and in a way they aren’t wrong. This is the first time Sinn Fein has been the largest political party in the Northern Ireland assembly, and it could open the door to a referendum on leaving the United Kingdom and joining the Republic of Ireland (where Sinn Fein has also done very well in recent elections).

And yet, when you look at the actual election results for Sinn Fein, they’re…kind of underwhelming?