Sinn Fein's attempts to breach the last great citadel of unionism were deferred for another year last night, when the plan to make Alex Maskey the first republican mayor in Belfast City Hall fell two votes short.
The increasingly dysfunctional unionist family came together to ensure the election of the DUP's Sammy Wilson. And not even an embarrassing last-minute row in which the DUP's expected candidate announced he was quitting the party threatened the outcome.
Even as he complained of the "dishonesty" of colleagues who had done him out of the nomination, veteran Eric Smyth assured supporters he would be voting with the fold to "keep Sinn Fein out".
Only rumours that the Ulster Unionists might be less than assiduous in turning up kept the issue in any doubt yesterday. In the event, they were all present, including the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Sir Reg Empey, who, as Alex Maskey was quick to point out afterwards, rushed from a meeting with Sinn Fein government colleagues to help keep the mayoralty out of the same party's hands.
As for the fringe unionist parties, one observer predicted beforehand that the PUP would "hold its nose and vote for Wilson"; and so they did, although David Ervine seemed to hold his breath, too, before saying the DUP man's name in the roll-call vote, and Billy Hutchinson admitted beforehand to feeling like a hypocrite.
The comment was echoed afterwards by the Alliance Party, which supported Mr Maskey and accused the UUP of "breathtaking hypocrisy". Such criticisms aside, passions ran so low last night that veteran observers felt nostalgia for the era when City Hall was still a bearpit. In his acceptance speech, Sammy Wilson said it would have been "intolerable" if the 21st century had begun with a Sinn Fein mayor "of the city they sought systematically to destroy over 30 years". But Sinn Fein heard his remarks in silence.
The continued slow thaw in political relations saw unionist tributes to Sinn Fein's outgoing deputy mayor, Marie Moore. And Alex Maskey caught the mood when he shrugged off the result as the temporary postponement of the inevitable:
"I have no doubt we'll be back next year with an even bigger mandate."
