Another fine mess?

Laura Duffy comments on the outcome of the Assembly elections and its implications for our future

Now that the elections have once more come and gone, the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland are left to face everyday realities. Predicted tribal electoral patterns have more or less been fulfilled and the political landscape has been transformed. Sinn Fein and the DUP are euphoric, the SDLP have been decimated and the UUP, despite having lost only one seat, no longer hold the reins of unionist hegemony. The parties that held the middle ground have been squeezed out of the picture and moderating voices have been lost. So are we in a mess? The two sovereign governments are proclaiming that the Agreement will is not up for re-negotiation. The DUP think otherwise.

There will be a review and to quell the unease amongst anti-Agreement unionists it is most likely it will occur sooner than later. There will be talks about talks and there will be proxy talks. There will be denials of secret talks and denials of face to face talks. In the interim, and it seems there is always an interim when there are talks, the future of the north remains in the hands of a ruling clique of myrmidons in the NIO. Some people would be happy with that. It seems everyone wants devolution but everyone wants it on their own terms.

Nationalists and republicans still see the Agreement as a stepping stone to their aspiration of a united Ireland and the DUP and their supporters see it as a sop to pan-nationalism. There will be no level playing field when it comes to agreeing an acceptable formula for governance. Against this political backdrop job losses continue, agriculture faces decimation, the economy convalesces on public sector employment, communities face a future of social and economic deprivation, visitor/tourist attractions are closing, and Northern Ireland is the most expensive region in Europe to live in. The paramilitaries continue to pursue their own agendas of social, political, and economic control.

Their buzzwords are diesel, counterfeit, kneecapping, smuggling, extortion and racketeering. Little change there. Life goes on in the north but the mantle of real progress and peace building falls on those who provide leadership and take up the slack within deprived rural and urban communities. On this landscape there remains much work to be done and if politicians cannot work together the ordinary people who want to must in reality double their efforts. Why should we leave the future totally in the hands of politicians who simply will not agree on a way forward. The stats show that there was a deep sense of apathy. Thousands did not vote with their feet, thousands were not on the register, thousands had not appropriate ID, the total eligible vote was 390,000 and only 60% turned out. There is a message here.

There is apathy and there is hurt amongst working class communities in the north and there is a deep sense of frustration. But a lot of good and courageous work is being done by ordinary people. Bridges are being mended and people are more and more coming together to find consensus on a way forward that will create and provide stability and future prosperity. That’s what the vast majority of people want here, or anywhere for that matter. Only a united voice will be heard above the clamour.

The views expressed by our contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect that of the editorial committee.

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