02nd Jun 2008
Sinn Fein threat could backfire
The BBC teatime news is reporting speculation that Sinn Fein is actively considering voting against Peter Robinson as First Minister unless he agrees to their timetable for the devolution of policing and justice.
This will take some explaining to the electorate given their commitment to the DUP - SF axis over the past year. They agreed to a Programme for Government which many felt was too right wing for them, accepted a fudge on victims, supported the Review of Public Administration and rowed back on an independent environmental regulator without blinking. As partners in government go they have been a model of consistency and support, even if this meant changing their own policy on important issues.
Yes they have good reason to be irked at the DUP’s entrenched position on policing and justice but this particular threat could well backfire. The electorate will little thank any party for reintroducing instability to our shared institutions and particularly a party which has made a virtue of bringing stability to Stormont.
Conall,
While others have described the threat as idle I think its very useful to continue to inform the DUP and other parties that the executive is multi-party and that while one party can obstruct so then can any party. Its only by compromising on issues that resolution can be achieved. I think now its easy in hindsight to say the programme for govt. was too right wing. One of the key aims also was to allow a sizeable section of the Northern ireland population to see that SF in govt. was not the end of the world and hold a minute they were even doing a steady enough job. I agree there will need to be some quid pro quo now and hence the low key warning shot.
[...] can be no doubting as I wrote earlier in the week that there are some legitimate issues with the DUP but raising these at the [...]