Picture by Newberg
Peter Robinson differs in many ways from his mentor Ian Paisley. He lacks Paisley’s bullish charisma, he uses language in a colourless, slightly tired way while Paisley tossed it about like fireworks. But the main difference appears to be between their views on the existence of Stormont power-sharing and government from London.
Some people claimed that Paisley, the eternal No-man, became the Yes-man because he’d had a serious illness that confronted him with his mortality: hence his change of heart regarding working with Sinn Féin. Others said it was because he just couldn’t resist the position and attention he’d get as First Minister, after a lifetime of protest from the sidelines. And some said he did it because the alternative was even more appalling: joint rule by London and Dublin.
Peter Robinson, on the other hand, seems to lean towards London-Dublin rule. I say ‘seems’ – it’s hard to tell what unionist politicians are saying exactly at the moment. Nesbitt has pulled out of the Executive – but not from Stormont. He has joined the talks – but he has left the talks. Peter Robinson says they’ll force an adjournment of Stormont and at the same time talks sorrowfully of the consequences: “If the Assembly and Executive falls we are probably talking about the best part of a decade before it would ever be revived”.
Now that’s what I’d call an appalling vista. Imagine not having Peter and Nigel and Gregory telling us what’s what and collecting their salaries and treating all things republican as the political equivalent of a soft-centred turd. We’ll miss you, guys, we really will.
And how long did you say, Peter, before Stormont would get off its knees again? Around ten years…right, so that’d be 2025. How interesting. Have you had a look at the demographics recently? Except those of a Catholic background do the reverse of what they’ve consistently done at the ballot box since the foundation of the state – that is, vote nationalist/republican – then 2025 should see a solid majority of nationalists/republicans gathering to take power at the freshly-painted Stormont, led by First Minister…Who? Gerry Kelly? John O’Dowd? Conor Murphy?
Imagine, Peter: living in a state where your political opponents have an unassailable majority. How awful. And did I say you were totally unlike your guldering predecessor? Maybe not completely. Maybe like him, you’re preparing to precede your retirement with a move that will ultimately drive your supporters up the walls.
Peter is pushing for an adjournment because then the MLAs keep their salaries. Suspension means no pay packets
peter seems to lean towards london dublin rule,maybe peter knows we will be out of europe by the time the assembly is back so dublin wont really matter.peters good at forecasting the future he was able to know them 3 guys were going to be nicked but thats another storey,
Peter wasn’t too good at forecasting the future when Iris met her toyboy!
Lederach suggests the need for sustainable reconciliation in divided societies in order to deal with “accumulated pain, with marked emotional and psychological patterns of neatly institutionalised hatred and division.” The politics of exclusion will only exacerbate the situation. Do we really want or need peace walls built on fault lines from generations of institutionalised sectarianism?
Politicians who are unable or unwilling to provide the leadership required in order to promote sustainable reconciliation are past their respective use by dates. Peering into the future is perhaps an activity best left to astrologers and those with a vision focused exclusively on securing a place in the Upper House.
On the old Liberty Valance, Esteemed Blogmeister, one would be inclined towards the opinion that Mrs. Robinson’s spouse would find the prospect of a joint London-Dublin rule not entirely unpalatable,
(Perhaps a Giant and Jackeen rule might be more appropriate)
London of course offers much for the House of Lords-bound spouse; while there is also much, if not quite so much, on Liffeyside to curry his yogurt.as a glance at this morning’s menu of The Unionist Times will reveal.
The only loose end to be tied up regarding the HoL is the title which title Peter the Grate will choose. The short odds, which take into account the Compulsory Iris,his very own indispensable Girl Friday, are centred on: Lord Robinson of Trousseau.
Re, The Unionist Times, the above glance might specifically, focus on an orticle by one Bernice Harrison, the TV critic of that High Level Paper of record.
Back in the Roaring Hannas, oops, Twennies, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a short story (no relation) called ‘Bernice bobs her hair’. In today’s piece in T.U.T., Bernice airs her bob’s worth of girly bias against bilingualism on RTE. .With leprechaun very much in the descendency.
Btw, this particular Fitzgerald is in no way to be confused with another Fitzgerald who was very proud (some might opine, inordinately proud) of his Scotty ancestry.. That would have been The Old Maid in the Fitzgerald Garret who was enthusiastically in favour of bilingualism in the FSS: the German Queen’s English and Ulster-Scots, to mention the twa tongues in mind.
But, back to Auntie Bernice and her bob’s worth of girly anti-biiingual bias: ‘The announcement that RTE’s 2fm is to offer English-Irish news bulletins reminds me of those cooking-for-toddler days’.
This is the first line which takes its curry-flavoured lead from the title of the piece: ‘If every week is Seachtain na Gaeilge on RTE, do we need TG4?’.
(For the benefit of Peadar’s Spin Doctor who scans the Higher Paper: ‘Seachtain na Gaeilge’ is leprechaun for ‘Leprechaun Week’.)
Ms Monoglot, aka, Bernice H. is daintily toeing the TUT line when it comes to bilingualism here: its weakly and weekly page in leprehcaun is,is it not, titled ‘Treibh’. Which, as any even half-clever Trev will know tranlates as : Tribe.
An in-house joke, par excellence, which conjures up comical images of Kaffir-camps in the Orange Free Stateen. This sophisticated line of anti-thinking also conjures up images, rich in seams of irony ore. In backward Holland for instance, home of the House of Orange, bilingualism is commonplace on TV while dubbing is the norm in a way which in unknown in dub-free Dublin. That would be Dublin, Oreland rather than, say, Dublin Texas or even, Dublin, Georgia itself.
Verwelkomen to The Netherlands: home of the Neanderthals.
Ms. Harrison while on media watch, turns monetary-minded as she fumbles in her greasy purse:. In pursed-lip prose Ms. Mongolot hisses:
-At a time of limited resrources for all broadcasters does it make sense,for example, to fund a drama on TV4 such as An Klondike (its total budget was 1.6 millions euros) when so few people will end up watching it?’.
This prompted Perkie to put on his counting-house chimney-pot hat.
Hmmm.
Say – at max – up to 16 viewers get to watch this show (including repeats) this still comes out twelve (12) ahead of the number of, erm, Two by Two Top Telly Tubbies (see cooking-for-toddlers above) who will be watching their Take Home Dosh as it is being wheelbarrowed home.
Bron orm, EB, but one feels a repeat coming on.
Comes with the curried yogurt on Liffeyside.
I was reading an article by Unionist journalist Alex Kane recently. Now I have respect for Alex, I think he’s a decent guy, he replies to a lot of my questions when I tweet him and is always up for a debate but he does come out with some really stupid sentences sometimes, one I read the other day was: “Republicans say Northern Ireland is a failed state, its not a failed state because the large majority wish to keep it”. How anyone can even suggest this little state in the north east corner of Ireland is anything but a failure I don’t know. Alex says a “large majority wish to keep it”, how does he know this? I have a feeling he’s referring to Belfast Telegraph and The Newsletter polls (hardly bastions of neutrality…) that claim most Catholics want to keep the Union….even though less than 1% of all Catholics vote Unionist parties at General, Council or Assembly Elections, in fact, there’s more Protestants that vote SDLP or SF than Catholics that vote DUP/UUP. Also the last border poll held here was in the early 1970’s and wasn’t it boycotted by Catholics?….
Unionism in its many shades, from moderates in the short lived NI21 to the extremist dimwits in Jim Allisters TUV, just cant bring themselves to face the reality that this state has always been a failure. That’s one of the main reasons I believe Irish Unity is inevitable because NI is simply unworkable and the DUP’s brand of Unionism is one of the main reasons why its unworkable.
Ten years is a long time but where do I see our little corner of Ireland in 2025? A lot closer politically to Dublin than London.