You say potaytos, I say potahtos, let’s call the whole thing off.
At the time of writing, it’s impossible to know what arrangements the Johnson government will table that’ll strip away at least some aspects of the protocol agreed with the EU. They say they’re taking this step to protect the Good Friday Agreement. But just about everybody else thinks it’ll damage the Good Friday Agreement and break international law.
Brandon Lewis, who looks and sounds like a junior car salesman with Arthur Daley’s garage, insists that the British government will not be breaking international relations, and we’ll all see that when the proposed parliamentary bill is published later today. That’s a bit like saying “You may think this colour I’m holding up now is red, but I promise you, when you see it tonight, it really is green.”
And speaking of red and green: we do know that the new arrangements will involve green and red lanes for goods coming from Britain to our wee stateen. It’ll be just like Customs in an airport. Those with nothing to declare waltz on through, those with something to declare ‘fess us and head for the red lane.
Should be fun watching that one. Because of human weakness the green lane will require at least periodic monitoring and checks, and if the DUP think the EU will leave such checks to the UK, they’re living in a parallel universe. But having had an irony by-pass, they continue to remind us how intolerable it would be to have a border within your own country.
But there’s just one big drawback: this legislation has to jump through so many legal hoops, it’s expected to be December before it actually goes live. By that time twenty-four weeks will have passed, and since no Stormont government has been in existence, it’ll be time to call another election here.
Which suggests by digging in its heels, the DUP must think they’ll do better at the polls next time out. Oh really? With all the business bodies here mad as hell over the DUP’s not-an-inchery, with Alliance, the SDLP and maybe even the Ulster Unionists mad as hell with the DUP’s obstructionism, any comforting thought such as “Well, we can’t do worse than last time” is classic whistling-past-the-cemetery stuff.
It will be worse, Jeffrey – much much worse.
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