A Tangled Web

Sulking in a Corner



To paraphrase Del Boy of Only Fools and Horses fame: 'Mark Durkan reminds me of Cliff Richard. He's got one of those faces that you wanna slap!' Poor Mark! Having watched while the same agreement conceived by his former leader gently withers on the vine, he is now threatening to take his rump of a party into opposition in protest at possible government acquiescence in making an essentially pro-nationalist template into an agreement acceptable to Ulster's Unionist majority.



Goodness me how the tables have turned. The SDLP, a party that once prided itself on promoting an image of tolerance, is now the most obdurate and downright nasty element in the old Stormont set-up. Having resisted anything which might dilute the ability of Irish separatism to make Northern Ireland perpetually unstable, Durkan is now ironically suggesting the very moves which so many people have argued is a central part of any governing body - namely the presence of an official opposition. Although I would prefer to see both the SDLP and Sinn Fein/IRA in opposition......No, I take that back. I would like to see the SDLP and Sinn Fein/IRA prevented from entering Stormont by two miles of electrified razor wire.



Apologies for my sudden aberration. I almost gave my tacit approval of Irish nationalists at Stormont. Actually my ideal solution would be to see the DUP in power and the UUP in opposition. However, in the context of the current political situation, I will rest my case on arguing for the necessity of opposing parties instead of the consociational quagmire we have witnessed hitherto. In acting like a spoilt brat, Durkan may in fact aid the processes of institutional democracy in Northern Ireland.