What
is it with all this talk from the unionist parties
about them being unwilling to enter into government
with SF because they don't trust them? On hearing
it you could have knocked me down with a feather,
I was that surprised. OK, I jest, but in any normal
Democracy; and that is what Unionists have since
its inception always claimed the north of Ireland
to be, trust between competing political parties
would not be a factor in whether one party works
with another. Trust is not the starter-motor of
democratic politics, for the simple reason few if
any opposing political parties trust one another,
due to their political differences and in some cases
ideologies (although admittedly at times, trust
can become a pleasant outcome).
Nor
if we take this a step further, does trust play
much of a role between the various political parties
that make up a Coalition Government, or when the
said coalition is first established? No-where is
this lack of trust better illustrated than the coalition
governments which emerged in Western Europe at the
end of World War Two. How could trust exist when
for example Christian Democrats sat alongside Communists
in Government, both of whom had ideologies which
were
direct opposites? Yet these ideologies did not stop
these parties working together in a coalition government,
as the parliamentary system of government works
on the basis of needs must. By this I mean if the
only way a political party can attain governmental
power, due to either their failure to attain the
necessary electoral arithmetic to govern alone or
the constitutional situation, then when possible
they must enter into an agreed coalition with political
parties they had only yesterday fought bitterly
at the polls, and, in some cases, on the barricades.
The reason they make such concessions, however uncomfortable
it may make them feel, is they know full well it
is the only way they are able to enter government,
which is after all the raison d'etre of political
parties. Without power, they are unable to deliver
what they promised their electorate.
The
question the Unionists electorate now need to ask
themselves is are they happy to be governed by an
administration that is not directly elected by them
and that they have had no opportunity to place in
power? If they are quite content to allow people
to travel across the Irish sea to govern them, fine.
Although if so, I just wish they would stop moaning
when the Viceroy of the day acts against their interest.
For whose interest do they really expect a London
based administration to serve, once the north's
unionist political parties refused to bend to London's
will and accept devolved government?
No
one expects the Unionist community to trust SF as
if the last thirty odd years had never occurred,
human nature is simply not like that. Although perhaps
they should remember, many on the nationalist side
feel much the same about the Unionists. However
for the Unionist political leadership to allow the
North to be governed by people they equally distrust,
if we are to believe their words, when they have
an opportunity to govern themselves jointly with
their nationalist neighbours, is a negation of their
duty and smacks to me of political cowardice. I.e.,
'we are unable to hold our own in a coalition government,
better the British govern for us, then we can place
all the blame on them by proclaiming they are the
easy dupes of those ever so clever Shinners'.
As
to the continuing saga of PIRA decommissioning arms,
this is simply a silly red herring, for we now know
the PRM have gone much further than any Irish Republicans
have historically gone before and are allowing their
enemies, the British State, to play a role in decommissioning
their armaments (to the consternation of many Republicans,
I might add). If a former senior Nato officer like
General John de Chastelain is not acceptable to
Unionist to oversee this process, then in truth
I doubt anyone else will be. Thus this decommissioning
business is just another opportunity for Unionism
not to step up to the plate and do the job their
electorate voted them in to do, which is to help
govern the north of Ireland.
The
funny thing is, the longer it takes for the Unionists
Parties to enter government with their Nationalist
neighbours the better SF will like it, as they themselves
have some horny problems to face if they are to
fully play a role in administering the northern
Statelet, police and all. The longer the DUP take
to eat this somewhat mouldy meal, the more SF will
look like moderates and Unionists will increasingly
appear as bigots, unwilling to share power no matter
what concessions the Shinners make, nor how many
people have voted for them.
It
seems to me in the north, the political representatives
of both communities have become far too comfortable
doing deals with the British State behind closed
doors. Making
trade offs to gain tasty morsels from the masters
table, without having to take any responsibility
if things fail to pan out. The man in the Big House
is still expected to take responsibility for all
things. This is especially true of the Unionists,
who appear to want power and all that goes with
it, salaries, prestige, etc., without the brick
backs and responsibility of governing.
To
put it bluntly, this is just not on any more, for
there is another option open to the British, If
the majority community in the north has no wish
to govern themselves, there are those who are willing
to step up to the plate. It is time the Unionists
woke up to the fact that Nanny is going home on
the same boat as those members of the British Army
who have been stood down.
After
all, few people still expect to have a Nanny at
84.
