Those of us who were fast asleep at 2.30 on Monday morning would have been forgiven for thinking that the Monaco football team had just won a major victory. Suddenly, the streets were filled with cars beeping their horns, as the majority party of the past 5 years celebrated a second term in office. With 20 seats out of 24, the UPM party won the election for the National Council of Monaco, the remaining 4 seats being taken by Rassemblement et Enjeux (REM). Just under 77% of the electorate turned out, 1504 of whom voted for the complete list of UPM's 24 candidates, against 1248 for REM. A number of reasons for the failure of REM have been offered, from the alliance's late entry into the contest, to the insistence of retaining two leaders rather than a single figurehead. With another 5 years before the next election, there's plenty of time for reflection.