Not
a word bandied about too much here in the "Wee
North". We tend to think of the Alliance
Party as "Liberal" without thinking
too much about what it means. It is probably the
hardest thing to be.
The
misconception is that to be "liberal"
anything goes, and nothing could be further from
the truth. The Liberal tendency in the North has
come from the "Nationalist" side usually.
Where the Nationalists have taken control of Councils
in the 6 Counties they have, after a period of
time, shared power with other parties. I have
yet to see where any of these other parties, in
the same position, have reciprocated.
When a bully has power over you, or conceived
power over you, you will be bullied. That's what
bullies do. It's their stock in trade.
Hence
the DUP will get, or try to get, Sinn Fein to
jump through hoops. They've jumped through a few
so far. It's the Liberal tendency in them. They
think that if they do what the DUP want, such
as supporting the PSNI, that everything will be
HunkyDory.
However, the DUP don't do Liberal. They will kick
your nuts in, and ask you to like it.
If,
however, you kick them back, they will squeal
the place down and brand you as a terrorist, and
refuse to ever go into Government with anyone
who would use force, such as Michael Stone Esq.,
a graduate of the Academy encouraged by the Big
Man all those years ago, the UVF. I'm old enough
to remember when thugs like Gusty Spence were
held in contempt by working class Protestants.
Meanwhile,
instead of pulling the plug on the whole fiasco,
Peter Hain lets the whole weary scenario go on.
Meanwhile,
as a definite liberal, I'll get on with my life
giving Unionists a hard time when I can, and Republicans
as well.
If
you're a "Liberal", that's what you
do.
