When Terence O’Neill gave his infamous warning that ‘Ulster stood at the crossroads’, he was issuing a direct warning to the Paisleyite faction of evangelical right-wing extremists. With foresight, he could see that the refusal to embrace a more diverse, egalitarian and multicultural era of change would be the rock upon which the Union with Britain would split. Sceptical of liberal British governments, the right-wing faction within Ulster resisted change right up to the last minute. The 1998 Agreement was, in fact, a “surrender document”; Unionism, forced by the pressures of a sovereign British government, had to accept a timed process of the two Ireland’s integrating upon the prospect of eventual amalgamation as one nation-state. And they have never quite recovered from it.
We are at the point whereby society in the North is waiting for the most unreasonable of people to suddenly become reasonable. Dependent upon the hope that the majority within the Unionist faction will see sense and embrace basic changes. As hopeful as some might be, a sobering thought must be spared as to how resistant to these kinds of measures the ideologues within Loyalism truly are – they, after all, don’t do change. Full stop. Change must be imposed upon them.
Having signed up to previous agreements which include arrangements to tackle the noted issues of legacy and civic equality, the right-wing extremists behind Mrs. Foster are reneging on their own given word. The political butterfly is regressing back into a slug. It is an alarming sight for sore eyes. But even more alarming is that the heroes of these people, some of the most rotten fundamentalist bigots, had at their disposal a semi-sovereign government from the 20’s right up to the 70’s. That all change rested upon a temperament so disposed against any form of compromise or accommodation, which they continue to exert.
As an observer first and a citizen second, I have no hope of them suddenly undergoing a drastic road to Damascus-style conversion. These people built up an entire state, history and culture on the repression, murder and degradation of ordinary Irish people. So forgive me if I don’t imply a note of relief. The solution to our problems, or rather their problem, simply will not come from them. That’s a fact. Whatever gestures Mrs. Foster applies, on the Irish language or other issues, these are piecemeal arrears that no right thinking person would ever have opposed.
My gut instinct and my head are at one on this; that any change will have to come from the political parties working alongside the two sovereign governments. That a joint secretariat will have to legislate for the progressive solutions underlying our misery and discontent. The Unionist political class, or rather the “Orange Aristocracy”, is dead set against any such move, taking control and influence away from the parliament they inhabit. It plagues the Ulster conscience like dettol to a wasp. They find themselves in a situation where the Tory government appears somewhat dependent on their votes for its Brexit deal; But anyone who followed the debate on Article 50 will see full well that cross-party support exists on that matter of national importance. So Mrs. May is highly unlikely to need DUP votes to get her legislation and trading arrangements through. The Unionists, as is consistent with history, will find all too well that the Tories are more than prepared to betray them on the altar of political expediency – having abolished the parliament they once dominated in the 70’s.
Put simply, the only progress that can really be made will be between republicans negotiating directly with the British and Irish governments. And only after a period of torturous deprivation from political office will the Orange fanatics cross the road which now engulfs them. We’re finding all too often what generations of nationalists and reasonable-minded people knew deep down, that ‘Northern Ireland’ is a failed political entity, and cannot therefore work. The task now has to be to inform and educate like never before on the alternative to this pitiful discontent. To look beyond Unionism’s political Winter, and lay the groundwork for a Republican Spring.
Summed up nicely Donal ,yes this partitionist entity is an abysmal failure and no matter what way you try and shore it up ,no matter what form of juggled politics you devise it will never amount to anything but a screwed up disaster. I also believe that progress can only be achieved by bypassing the naysayers ..SF talking directly to , and getting a worthwhile agreement with the two governments. Unionism has shown themselves to be masters of perfidy and deception .Their word is completely worthless. In every agreement they made ,they abrogated at the first opportunity….nobody could , or should , trust them again
Reading the tonnage of commentary on the “talks process” none apart from SF spokespeople stating it directly ever seem to make the point that Stormont rests upon the GFA & SAA. That SF is requiring that those agreements be implemented. Unionism refuses to implement them.
How can you possible have the Assembly or Executive based on GFA/SAA running if one or more of the parties refuses to sign up to the agreements?
Instead we get a resounding cacophony of SF refuse to compromise and give up their insistence on the GFA/SAA being implemented.
Does anyone disagree that longterm Unionism needs Stormont up and working, whereas now SF can take it or leave it given the progress they are making in the 26?