After what has at times felt like the longest pre-election period ever, the dust has now more or less settled. Most attention is understandably directed toward parties and elected members who are forming administrations. What often passes unremarked is how many will be learning for the first time what it means to be in opposition.
We are now seeing political groups in many parts of the country that have long been used to being in a position to select a leader and appoint cabinet positions suddenly finding themselves having entirely different conversations. Or alternatively, an opposition group that may have had – at most – a handful of councillors, is suddenly represented in double digits. The learning curve for opposition members can be as steep as for executive members and no less deserving of effective officer support.
