Is this a non-election?

A fews weeks ago it would have been difficult to find a pundit who would predict anything except the status quo when the votes are counted for the European elections in Northern Ireland.

This is now changing and first to commit his belief that things are much less certain was Billy Graham in the Irish News yesterday.

There will also be considerable interest in the third seat held by Ulster Unionist Jim Nicholson and whether there is any possibility of the SDLP’s Alban Maginness being in with a chance of coming through the middle. Research for the SDLP by an American, Dr Michael Moriarty, points to 65 000 potential new voters on the register and claims that the breakdown is approximately 50 000 nationalist and 15 000 unionist. He adds that the party needs an additional 20 000 votes to win a seat. 

Most observers believe the SDLP faces an uphill battle if it is to come within range although there could be a knock-on effect from the Allister factor that would mean the UUP vote starting from a much lower projected figure…”

A bad day for….

Today is a bad day for The Maze, the Irish News and Margaret Ritchie.

The Maze Stadium is dead according to Terry McLoughlin in last night’s Belfast Telegraph and with it dies a symbolic opportunity to fulfill a shared future here in the North.  

Margaret Ritchie is also having a bad day. Turns out Sinn Fein don’t like her proposals to cut fuel poverty so they are blocking them at the Executive. They are reported to have a problem with the recommendations of the Fuel Poverty Task Force which brought together NGOs and experts from across government. It would be helpful to us all if they were to able to tell us what better idea they had to address this crisis. You could be forgiven for believing politics is being put before people yet again.

Last but not least the day has not got off to best start for the Irish News. The front page looks more like a Daily Mail special then the lead from one of the finest regional newspapers in these islands. The paper described what is a report by the Human Rights Commission, an advisory body to government as a draft bill, or piece of legislation. It is no such thing. The British Government will have to consider this report and consult on draft legislation which may or may not include all the Human Rights Commission’s recommendations.

Having mis-reported the status of the report the story focused on a suggestion that children should only go to prison as a last resort and that they should spend the shortest amount of time possible in prison.  Does the Irish News believe we should throw away the keys when a young person offends? Much of the rest of report was speculative and reactionary, including ‘fears’ by unnamed sources that treating young offenders differently would lead to minors who have committed heinous crimes walking free. I can see nothing in yesterday’s report that suggests this would be so.

O’Conall St looks forward to good public debate about a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. I hope this is a debate that about people, not politics and about and about the facts not fears.

Tomorrow is Friday.  O’Conall St is committed to spending the rest of Thursday trying to find something positive to blog about.

Scoop of the day

Scoop of the day goes to John Manley at the Irish News who got his paws on the McIldoon report into energy prices a day ahead of its publication.

Have to declare an interest here. Weber Shandwick represents the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation. Its never great to wake up and read a story based on a report which is not yet in the public domain but that is just part of life in this job. I am of course happy that Mr McIldoon endorses the Energy Regulator’s actions over the past six months.  

Over the years I have seen many leaks from many sources. Some like the young civil servant who was briefing Damian Greene MP are done to try and influence those in power. Others come from parties to a debate who want to try and get their spoke in before the posse arrives. A third category are individuals who think leaking gains the favour with the press.

Whatever about leakers in categories one and two, there arem many times when leaking information can be justified, those who think the press will return the favour are more often then not disappointed.

Has the power sharing brand been damaged?

Today’s Irish News piece considers the damage to the standing of power sharing as a system of government after 152 days of political stagnation.

The word on O’Conall St and on every other street for that matter is that there will be a meeting of the Executive on Thursday. It is being reported that our ministers will address the economic crisis. This is a very welcome step forward. It will, however, take months if not years however to win back the public confidence. I should point out that the article was written before yesterday’s news of a breakthrough.

Here is my full Irish News article:

How mad are you are the political impasse in our Executive?

Very mad, mad, sort of mad, don’t really care mad or not mad at all?

I’m in the “very mad” group as are very many I meet in business, the NGO sector and the media. This is not a partisan madness, it is 152 days of no government madness. I have no problem with a power sharing executive led by whichever two big parties the people choose. I don’t believe the system is broken like Jim Allister MEP does, nor do I buy into the argument which Sinn Fein appear to be making that the devolution of justice is more important then the 11plus, health policy, the global economic crisis or functioning government for that matter.

What I do believe in is government for the people and by the people. Here in the North of Ireland that means sharing power between our two communities for the benefit of both communities and those who belong to none.

It means putting people before party interest and issues before matters which should be dealt with by separate political processes. In simple terms, it means a working Executive and Assembly delivering an agreed Programme for Government and building on the common ground of bread and butter politics tackling bread and butter issues.

What has this got to do with PR? Everything. You see many of us who make a living from Public Relations do so by providing services to the private sector. We create jobs by growing our business and staying ahead of the curve. Over the past couple of years there has been considerable growth in digital communications practices as well as public affairs. The latter of which relies not just on a vibrant private sector but also on a functioning government.

Next year there will be job losses in my industry. That’s not me being pessimistic; it’s just a statement of fact. And for PR read law, accountancy, architecture, journalism or advertising for that matter. This is not a good place to be looking for a job and our political shenanigans could not send out as worse message to those thousands of graduates considering whether to stay or emigrate, not to mention potential investors.

The expectation of a functioning government is a reasonable one. Access to accountable representation is a right, not a luxury. There is another PR dimension to all this. By engaging the crudest form of party politics our leaders are themselves devaluing the reputation of politics and government.  They are presiding over a ‘brand assassination’ of power-sharing which is leaving the vast majority of our people disillusioned and disconnected from those who should be providing them with hope and opportunity at this time of need.

I want to see the devolution of justice here. For that matter I believe we should devolve taxation and broadcasting too. The closer government is to the people the better. That said, we can’t expect the public to entrust politicians with more powers when they seem incapable of sharing the authority they already have.

The Good Friday Agreement is premised on the assertion that victories are not solutions and that by working the common ground confidence can grow between our communities. It is not the institutions that are failing; the issue is the apparent unwillingness of the two big parties to share power.

As for PR. We will knuckle down and focus on delivering the very best for our clients. We have our big awards night later this month; a time to celebrate the very best in our industry. One thing I am sure of though. There will be no prizes for the political spin doctors this year.