Long before her defeat in the Legislative Council election last September, it was an open secret that relations between Mandy Tam Heung-man and the core of the Civic Party, which she co-founded, had been fraught with unease and uncertainty.
Her re-election bid was only endorsed by the party following an intense debate. In view of her declining popularity within the accountancy functional constituency, it was feared that she would lose.
She did - to Paul Chan Mo-por, by a sizeable margin. And, before her setback in the Legco poll, she also lost her seat in the Wong Tai Sin District Council, where she made a successful debut in elective politics.
With that double blow, her political career has been cast into doubt.
Against such a background, it is not surprising that her decision to quit the party at the weekend did not cause a stir in political waters.
Although her dramatic decision to vote down the 2007-2008 electoral blueprint in 2005 proved to be crucial, the fame of the 'Goddess of Democracy', as she was dubbed, proved to be short-lived.
