THE WEEK THAT WAS….
How Peter Robinson must envy Alex Ferguson. When Alex wants to get rid of troublesome, truculent star he can dispatch him to the bench or do a ‘Ronaldo’, banishing him to a foreign country and getting paid handsomely for the privilege. Unfortunately for the DUP, Brussels wasn’t far enough for their former MEP, Jim Allister, whose surprisingly stellar performance in the European Election has thrown a proverbial cat among the chickens.
In an ironic twist of fate it appears that the TUV is doing to the DUP what the DUP did to the UUP when they bit the bullet (or didn’t depending on how you viewed the ‘No Guns, No Government’ policy of David Trimble) and established the first devolved Executive. Indeed, if you had closed your eyes during Jolly Jim’s speech at the Euro-count it wasn’t hard to imagine that it was the Good Doctor at the height of his oratorical powers; it was just missing a rendition of ‘Our God Our Help in Ages Past’.
What to do now presents a few conundrums? Was the poor result a reflection on the expenses scandal, political dynasties or discontent with the candidate? Or is it more fundamental; is there a sizeable portion of the Unionist electorate that just can’t be reconciled with Sinn Fein in Government? Reshuffling the pack won’t address that problem, nor will extolling the practical benefits of devolution. The TUV’s 66,000 votes may not sound a lot, but a reasonable showing at the next Assembly election could play merry havoc for the DUP with the d’Hont system putting Sinn Fein into poll position.
Every election has winners and losers, although Allister seems to be an exception by losing and winning simultaneously. For the SDLP and Sinn Fein it was business as usual, although results in the south took the gloss off Babs topping the poll in NI. The UCUNF must, however, be grinning from ear to ear.
Odd party name and dubious posters maybe, but they’ve snaffled a few DUP defectors and beaten their arch-rivals into third place. Utd’s motto is sometimes quoted as ‘Never Say Die’. Sir Reg can sit back in the company of Mark Twain and reply to his political critics: “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”.
