Stakeholder

What type of person threatens senior citizens? What type of low-life plants pipe-bombs outside homes? What type of thug thinks that beating children with baseball bats is justice? Well, usually the cowardly, balaclava-wearing runts that lurk under the protection of darkness or who take comfort from the safety of their feral hunting packs.

Combine these scumbags with a dose of illiberal or misguided ideology and one has a lethal collective of damaged and dangerous individuals. The news that

PSNI officers and their families are being subjected to terror tactics should surprise no-one. The dignity shown by Anne Gallagher, the mother of two PSNI officers, following the attack on her home was admirable and courageous but she and her family should not have to endure this type of nonsense.

It certainly puts the sham fights of the executive into context – a context that should make them all blush with embarrassment. Her predicament is about life and death. Theirs was a hissy fit of catcalls, finger pointing, tantrums and games of pass-the-political-parcel. At one point the irritating rants of Stephen Nolan seemed to be setting our political agenda instead of those we chose for the task. If this is what is to pass as mature political debate and responsible decision-making, then we might as well replace our ministers with Simon Cowell, Amanda Bryant and Louis Walsh. Let’s replace our majesterial secretary of state, Shaun Woodward with Bruce Forsyth – after all, it’s only a game.

As they say, you get the representation you deserve and given ours – both in terms of Stormont and the popularity of The Nolan Show – what does it say about us? As both play to polar ends, no wonder so many resent public funds paying for either show.

That sectarianism is ingrained there is no doubt but so too are political mythologies. We are steeped in the bloody things. Like ancient Romans, we find the allure of the gladiators’ pit in the Coliseum more appealing than the floor of the Forum.

Like the misguided and wholly dishonest policy of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ UDA, senior police officers appear to find it easier to perpetuate the NIO-inspired myth that dissident republicans only pose a minor threat than tell the actual truth.

Those who say that only the community can defeat the dissidents are correct in theory but are wrong in the outworking of that theory. If that theory worked then criminality would not be one of the few recession-proof industries. True, communities can give cover to criminals, terrorists or dissidents and, true, information provided by the community can greatly help police apprehend the culprits but terrorist cells can take years to infiltrate. These dissidents are well trained; their former Provisional IRA drill sergeants and quartermasters were among the best in the world. In fact, they gave international master-classes in terrorism.

The condemnations which have come from across the political spectrum against the actions of dissident republicans are to be welcomed. Sinn Fein deserves particular praise but like Peter Robinson’s newfound inclusivity, it’s deeds, not words, that are needed. Our political classes are not standing together, they are merely miming the words for the optics; reminiscent of

ill-at-ease and out-of-sync actors from early years of talking movies.

Political classes need to give us meaningful actions, words and imagery. It is pointless standing shoulder to shoulder and then letting the attack dogs loose. Witness the lack of choreography when Robinson was being conciliatory, his colleague Sammy Wilson was taking strips off Margaret Ritchie, who was being picketed by Sinn Fein, who accused everyone of ganging up on them, while Durkan pointed out the hypocrisy of the
DUP attitude to community designation which he once called ‘ugly scaffolding’. The Ulster Unionists said Robinson stole their ideas and even the Alliance tried to score points by saying “we told you so”.

Unfortunately for the poor old misguided republican dissidents, like their so-called ‘bad’ UDA counterparts, the gravy train has pulled out of the station. The hand of history is now aimed at their asses, not their shoulders. There is a recession. There are no more jobs to give unless the executive revamps the old Civic Forum.

But don’t rule out the NIO creating a commission for unreconstructed terrorists, dissidents and general malcontents. The time has come for political words to be backed up with political will. Parties signed on for devolution; it’s time they lived up to it too.