Well, it was a 'done deal' between the DUP and SDLP – worked out long before any newspaper hack or television crew entered the chamber to capture the announcement of who would be the new Mayor of Belfast.
That man was the DUP's Wallace Browne and his deputy – North Belfast's very own Pat Convery.
They were elected into position with the help of their own parties, Alliance and most of the UUP.
It is now expected that these parties will divvy out the pole positions between them over the next four years, excluding Sinn Féin.
The result of the 'deal', which was struck before the nominations were announced, is a scenario that holds warning signs for the Sinn Féin benches.
It could be four years of checkmate and perhaps regress. With the city's centenary celebrations around the corner and a new age in local council decision-making on the horizon, the situation is timely.
After Browne and Convery were installed, Sinn Féin issued a statement saying their position of strength should be recognised under the d'Hondt system of proportionality and reflected in the sharing of mayoral positions.
However, this was not to be.
D'Hondt essentially means favouring the larger parties more when it comes to dishing out positions of strength while giving the smaller parties a chance to have their say.
In March 1999 nationalist councillors voted to implement the system after Sinn Féin veteran Tom Hartley brought a discrimination case against Belfast City Council (BCC).
He took that case in 1998 to highlight discrimination against nationalists in the council and argue for a system of proportionality.
Despite agreement from the judge that the present system was unfair he ruled that he had no powers to change the legislation, and only Lord Dubs, minister for Local Government could do so.
However, this brought the issue to the fore in the council and the Sinn Féin group on BCC subsequently pushed the proposal for proportionality through the various stages in the council despite unionist opposition.
Under the d'Hondt system in the last four years we have had Jim Rodgers (UUP), Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin), Martin Morgan (SDLP) and Tom Ekin (Alliance) as our first citizens. And prior to Jim, we had Sammy Wilson.
However, with the help of the SDLP and the swing votes of the Alliance Party, Sinn Féin will be not be wearing any chains of office in the foreseeable future.
In terms of local government there has never been a more important time to be in a position of strength.
The Review of Public Administration (RPA) is a far-reaching plan and deadline for consultation on the document is looming.
It will fundamentally change the landscape of government and civil service life, as we know it.
Education, and health are the two big categories set to undergo seismic shifts. But not only that, councils everywhere will be amalgamating with their neighbours no matter which downsizing scheme is picked (15,11 or 7), and then it will be a case of watching the battle commence.
Wallace Browne astutely noted in his first speech as mayor that the next four years in the hands of the DUP and SDLP will be crucial in deciding the future of BCC.
"This mayoralty, the first in this four-year term, has the opportunity to shape the future of BCC. In four years time local government through the RPA will be unrecognisable from its current form," he said.
"While other councils around the province shall try to emulate Belfast, it is our responsibility to ensure that we remain at the forefront, carrying the standard as the premier council in Northern Ireland."
It's a lot to live up to and my bet is that the next four years are definitely going to be interesting.
Like chess – you never know who's going to become a king or a pawn or the player to deliver that checkmate blow – the one planned from the very word go.
