Grief swept the City of Sydney with news that Edward Mandla, leader of the Liberal pack at the town hall, will not be running for the lord mayoralty.

This is likely to leave Christine Forster at the top of the Liberal ticket, Christine being known in some circles as Tony Abbott’s sister and in others as a same-sex marriage advocate. She has been ably assisted in the job of taking on Clover Moore by legislation from the Shooters and Libs that gives city businesses two votes and residents one vote each at the next elections.

What could be fairer than that? Mandla, a weightlifting champion, describes his career as spanning “three decades in business intertwined with making voluntary contributions to the broader community”.

He set a relaxed tone at council meetings by intertwining himself with a McDonald’s hamburger while council was in session.