The IRA tried to kill her father. Misogynists hate her because she’s a woman. People are suggesting that what happened should be examined by a public inquiry but she’s done nothing wrong. Sinn Féin think that she, the leader of unionism, will roll over, but that’s not going to happen.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
One of the charges against Arlene Foster is that she is arrogant and refuses to listen. She was on BBC Radio Ulster/Raidió Uladh this morning and she recited all of the above as reasons as to why she wouldn’t step aside for anyone. The more understated Simon Hamilton, her heir presumptive, came on immediately after and said the same thing.
This would be funny if it wasn’t so costly. Yes, the IRA tried to kill Arlene’s father when she was a schoolgirl, but it’s a reasonable guess that most people believe this event hasn’t warped her political judgement ever since. Yes, there have been misogynistic comments about her on social media, just as, if I remember rightly, there were misogynists in DUP ranks who used make mooing sounds when a member of the Women’s Alliance rose to speak. It’s deplorable but it shouldn’t be crippling. And as it happens, it was a woman –Ruth Patterson, late of the DUP – who brought forward last night’s motion at Belfast City Council calling on the First Minister to step aside. Sinn Féin and everyone else aren’t asking her to ‘roll over’ – they’re asking her to step aside temporarily as First Minister while a public inquiry looks at who was responsible for plunging public money into a £400 million + black hole.
Despite the blocking of Gaeltacht scholarships by the DUP’s fire-starter Paul Givan (a useful bauble with which to trade later, perhaps?), despite the fact that Sinn Féin now appear to have committed themselves to a Foster step-aside or a full-blown election, despite the fact that no amount of hedging and excuses and counter-claims can hide the fact that the cash-for-ash scheme was dreamed up and promoted by two DUP ministers, one of whom was Arlene Foster: despite all that, Arlene is not going to step aside.
Unlike many, I used to think Arlene was civil enough – unusually un-arrogant, compared to some DUP politicians. But it’s hard to see her as suffering from an arrogance-deficiency these days.
One final point: why is there such resistance to the suggestion that a comparison be drawn between two lists – the list of those who benefited from the cash-for-ash scheme, and the list of those who have made financial donations to the DUP? If I were a DUP politician and knew the party had nothing to hide, I’d have the list out there in double-quick time. Given that this is another thing the DUP refuse to do, we can only wonder why.
There is a lot of diversionary talk about misogny and so on but that’s all it is….talk. Arlene can look after herself on that score.She’s a politician and it goes with the territory, so if it occurred it would only be a distraction anyway. Politicians are in the business of bitching and battle. That’s only nonsense talk for the DUP troops .No one else believes that silly analysis .. there may be some online idiots attacking her for her gender but most people know why she is in the dock .IT WAS HER RESPONSIBILITY…HER FINGER WAS ON THAT BUTTON. .Arlene is directly responsible for all the actions we are discussing and she is handling this all very badly .If she wanted to destroy this current Executive experiment …or show us that it is ultimately unworkable because the DUP never really wanted it to work with republicans onboard anyway…then she going in the right direction.it’s all down to who gets the blame for the final crash. Having an election should be seen as the ultimate fudge to clear the decks again. Previously there would be a simple change of leader, but the DUP has done that three times in this past few years and that hasn’t stopped the stream of scandal.The next step is to have another bloody election , which will not bring back the £480 million.
.I have personally reached the point where i truly believe that the rug would need to be pulled from under the entire Executive because I cannot see how replacing the current lot with a similar lot in a new election will move us all forward or fix the poisonous heart of the system.It will just cost us money and time and in these circumstances I would be inclined to avoid voting at all …just to see this bloody nonsense continue with all those inflated wages being paid out to unelected SPADS and so on..It has become an absurdity. in real terms it is a joke that has gone too far.The DUP doesn’t want to or are socially unable to understand the “joint” nature of the First Minister/Deputy First Minister’s office for one thing ,and that is a crucial point which needs to be sorted out completely and transparently before such an event even happens otherwise the DUP are destined to bring that office into disrepute all over again….ad finitum
Martin McGuinness is very obviously unwell and it is possible that health will make him step down from his position anyway. That may actually be the tactic used to explode the current show.I’m not convinced that it is worthwhile anyway because it seems mostly unworkable. Changing the face of it will not change anything. .There’s an argument that we would all be better off if we were ruled for a period by a joint Irish/ UK ministry , especially at this present time when our relationship with the EU is in flux.What have our PushmepullyoU politicians provided in this past twenty years, anyway that we should be afraid of losing?
As for the Cash for Ash scandal, I am of a mind to keep the whole list of scandals alive and I would push for a specific page once again ,Jude. A list of the ongoing scandals and what the end result actually was of each of them . People are inclined to forget the details because there are so many of them and they are all still mostly properly unresolved .As for the list of DUP party donors and the Cash for Ash scheme? Well , naturally enough we all want to see that list.The beauty of the internet is that lists and pages such as this can remain current for careful study , for years to come.
Indubitably.
I think party donors here have always been kept secret supposedly for reasons of security.
I would say it is past time we changed that rule so we can see the donors for all parties.
I agree Gio
Alliance are the only party that has led the way on this issue and voluntarily name there large donors in line with the Westminster rules.
investigation doesnt equal public inquiry,more flip flopping from jude.
Not only is The Feisty First Female Minister called Foster protesting too much, Esteemed Blogmeister, but indeed there is the distinct hint that even the normally narky dogs on the streets of DOBlin are not barking.
Consider, for instance, the RTE (that repository of objective broadcasting) reporting on the issue this morning. Where the dissing by Tiocfaidh Arlene of the Shinners was described as ‘not being unexpected’, considering that the IRA had taken potshots at her father (Mr. Kelly) and that the teenage Ms. Kelly’s education had almost been curtailed by the planting of a bomb on the bus bringing her to school.
This thoughtful tactic is what’s known as dragging A. Stack, ooops, a stack of green herrings across the track of the topic du jour. (Green herrings are even smellier than their red relations).
Of far more consequence was the use of the M-word in the disinterested RTE report.
-M for Misogyny.
Can’t have that sort of thing about the house, you know. Curiously, the ever even-handed RTE did not absolve the Shinners of the M-word crime. M for Misogyny giving off , if anything, in the Rainbow Republic an even more putrid pong than the A-word itself: A for Ambush.
This curious failure by the broadcasting wing of The Unionist Times to grant absolution to the more sinned against Shinners grows even more curiouser once one does a little wondering along the lines of Malice doesn’t live in Wonderland any more.
After all, the Shinners are never , are they not, done with describing their beloved Eireland in terms that are female, in terms that are neither rough, tough nor gruff but indeed in ways that can only be categorized as lawdy-dautory. As evidenced by everything from Roisín Dubh to Caitlín Ní hUallacháin to An Sean-Bhean Bhocht via An Droimeann Donn Dílis herself.
( As the critically-acclaimed G. Campbell Academy of Advanced Lingusitics will aver, the 3-D Damsel translates distressfully as, erm, the Loyal Brown Cow.)
Neither Naomi Long nor Ruth Patterson are of the Martian gender and as the Feisty First Minister’s fellow First Minister is indubitably not Martina McGuinness of the Venetian gender, one is sadly left with another instance of the Thoughtful Tactic of, this time, dragging A. Stack, oops, a stack of blue-green herrings across the track of the topic du jour.
Which in turn brings one back to the odd reluctance of the p-correct corgis on the streets of the Rainbow Republic to indulge in their normal orgy of echo-friendly barking beneath the charming statue of Big Jim Larkin of the Outstretched Arms.
And the M-word they are refusing to bark is:
-Misandry.
Misandry is Misogyny with a Moustache, not. (Mostly).
Misandry, of course, is a contraction of the Misses Andrews just as ‘bigly’ is a shortening of The Donald’s pronunciation of ‘big league’.
For those of a certain antiquity the Andrews Sisters were a big-hit harmony group of the 40s, one of whose biggest hits was (gulp):
-The Woody Woodpecker Song.
NOT A MOOT POINT
Should Orange flute A. get the boot?
Shoot ! sez Slim Pickens, some loot !
Cute pures of the South
Won’t open their mouth
Demeaning Arlene remains uber-mute.
A PW classic
I am totally bemused that the person / party who are in the firing line over the RHI scandal are recommending how their conduct or alleged misconduct are investigated – there’s something not quite right about that. If a person in civil society was being investigated for whatever reason, it would be a travesty if they began dictating what type of investigation take place and when any findings are published.
That’s exactly the situation TheHist, Next they’ll be telling us just how exactly they want to be punished if they are caught out .Arlene has gone off the rails and believes she’s the Queen of the Mayand her every word is sacred law.She has lost the plot entirely and believes everyone is plotting to simply bring her down for no good reason.She seems to have no idea just what we are actually saying . It’s time to close this shop up . I think most of us know that it has run its course but we’re just afraid to say so.
I believe Paddykool is right ref; A complete list of all the scandals involving the DUP should be made public. The results of any details , punishment or innocence of those responsible.
I ask the question— Can the benificaries of the Cash for Ash scandal be supplied by the Freedom of Information Act whether they like it or not?. It is after all public money
Sinn Fein have been faffing around too much, and their electorate will punish them for it.
The only sensible tactic now is for them to collapse the whole Stormont arrangement, with the proviso that they will not darken its doors again until all agreements, broken and ignored by the DUP, all the scandals (Red Sky, NAMA and RHI) be sorted, with those found culpable being punished and denied access to any future government in the north of Ireland.
Over to you, Sinn Fein – now put up or shut up and disappear!
The inability of the political system to hold Foster to account means we need changes.
SF speak in almost reverential tones about the ‘institutions’ but I think they’ve delivered little in real terms almost 20 years down the line.
The in built vetoes have guaranteed that unionism can block all moves towards an equal society.
The RHI scheme has highlighted the huge problems inherent in the GFA.
Nationalists need to think about what comes next because the ‘institutions’ aren’t the answer.
“The IRA tried to kill her father. Misogynists hate her because she’s a woman”
Arlene is getting the “Us v Them’uns” election machine ready, in my opinion. Cast up selected versions of the past, get the blood boiling and get the voters out to vote. They have to keep “them’uns” out, after all. They cant have “rogues and renegades” anywhere near political power……emm, despite the fact that’s what they ultimately do because they agreed to share power with them…..Vote DUP to keep Marty out…..but we’ll put him in power anyway after the votes are cast…..#DUPlogic….
If Arlene was so outraged by the attack on her father, an RUC man, then why is she in Government with a party that is close to the IRA? That has defended and backed many of the IRA’s actions?…..Of course SF could be asked why are they in Government with a party that created Ulster Resistance? backed the RUC? Who associated closely with Unionist terror squads?….
Of course if we are to believe Arlene, the IRA popped out of the ground for absolutely no reason and spoiled an era of peace and prosperity, where everyone joined hands and sung together under the rainbow, while a big smiling Sun beamed down at everyone, like the Sun out of the Tellytubbies. Unionist Stormont was a utopia for everyone, apparently…..
PS: Today is the 41st anniversary of the Reavey and O’Dowd murders. The gang behind that attack consisted of RUC, British Army and Unionist paramilitary members, and in total murdered over 120 Catholic civilians and 1 IRA member, including many children. Of course Arlene would have us believe the RUC and British Army were upstanding citizens, so much so she even blocks funding for inquests into some killings they were involved in….
PPS: Misogyny? The DUP have a great tradition of advocating the advancement of women’s rights…..
Why did Sinn Fein abstain from the motion in Belfast City Council calling for a public inquiry?
So much hot air from the faithful that something must be done and yet they are conspicuously failing to do anything.
They have handlled this in a cack-handed and dithering manner.
“Why did Sinn Fein abstain from the motion in Belfast City Council calling for a public inquiry?”
That’s a question best posed to SF members Gio, I’m not one of them nor am I their greatest supporter, especially in recent times. I understand what they’re trying to do but I think patience is running out amongst many of their core supporters.
“So much hot air from the faithful that something must be done and yet they are conspicuously failing to do anything”
SF’s top priority will be keeping the institutions open Gio, the most obvious reason why is because if there is a prolonged political vacuum then there is a strong possibility that violence could erupt again. You just have to look at dissident republicans and the words of UDA Commander turned “Community Worker” Dee Stitt to see what I mean. Unfortunately, keeping the institutions open requires working with the DUP and keeping them on board. Both cant form a government without the other.
“They have handlled this in a cack-handed and dithering manner”
I don’t think they could be any worse than Arlene, to be honest. In a Belfast Telegraph poll, of over 8,000 voters so far, people were asked who they would vote for in an early election: 32% said SF, 8% DUP, 12% SDLP, 15% Alliance and 13% UUP. That’s how it is at present anyway.
PS: according to Sam McBride from the Newsletter, another DUP member is breaking ranks from within the DUP due to RHI. More articles on that due out tomorrow.