Stormont as Hogwarts
I'm just off air from Inside Politics which this week featured the DUP's Diane Dodds. Listeners might have noticed that having told unionists not to waste their vote on a unionist who can't win, she declined my invitation to specify who exactly that unionist is. On Talkback on Friday she did name Jim Allister eventually, but the DUP has shown general reluctance to speak the TUV leader's name (presumably through fear of giving him extra profile), prefering instead to refer to him as "a lone maverick" or some similar expression.
I was scratching my head about what this reminded me of, then reading a "Harry Potter" book to my son, it came to me. "He who must not be named" is J.K. Rowling's villain, Lord Voldemort. Obviously, seen through the DUP's eyes, the V in TUV must stand for Voldemort.
All other suggestions about which Hogwarts characters match Stormont characters gratefully received (and they don'y necessarily have to be as seen through the DUP's eyes).
One story I discussed with my guests Fionuala O'Connor and Sidney Elliot was an interview in the Irish Mail on Sunday with Fine Gael's Elections Director Frank Flannery suggesting his party would consider going into coalition with Sinn Fein in the future. The paper bills this as a "stunning U turn" two years after Enda Kenny ruled out a deal with Gerry Adams.
We also discussed the European debate televised on the Politics Show. For those who missed it at noon there's a chance to catch it again on BBC1 at twenty minutes past ten tonight.
Two newspaper stories that got squeezed out for time but which caught my eye for different reasons. First, in the Observer, Henry McDonald has an interview with the South East Antrim faction of the UDA predicting they will decommission some guns before August.
Second, Gerry Adams has told a Dublin radio station about how, when he was behind bars in the Maze/Long Kesh, he took comfort from humming along to the Monty Python song "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life". The only problem is that it wasn't written until two years after he was released. As any future Truth Commission might discover, memory can play tricks on us all.
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I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~16~RS~)
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Mark,
Today's Politics show was a real insight in to each of our candidates.
In terms of going across the panel my assessment of each was -
Jim Allister - Came across competent as he knows what he is talking about and is a worker. He seems to represent people within Europe and gets a good deal for Northern Ireland. The only thing he needs to do is try and be less bitter. I cannot see him attracting too many nationalist votes.
Bairbre DeBrun - A confident individual who will get things done. Not afraid to make her voice heard.
Diane Dodds - What can I say? Laughable, no policies, afraid of Jim Allister all in all a very poor performance. Robinson must be regretting the day the DUP put her forward. Outside of the programme Diane is more afraid of "the lone maverick". I would love to see Diane Dodds not be elected but I know the orange vote will get her over the line.
Jim Nicholson - What a weak performance. He tripped himself up on so many occasions. One question I would like to ask him - Has European money ever went to his farm?
Alban Maginnis - Another weak performance. Alban blames the current Executive on everything but he forgets that his party is part of the Executive. Why doesn't his Minister argue the SDLP point more rather than lying down and accepting everything?
Steven Agnew - Done ok and spoke well put cannot see him getting more than 10000 votes.
Ian Parsley - Came across quite confident if not a shade arrogant but cannot see him getting more than 30000 votes.
Just a mention for the host - I thought Jim Fitzpatrick done a wonderful job keeping a lid on Diane Dodds and her childish antics. Wonder what Jim Allister was saying to him at the end!!
Stormontspy
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Mark, if enough people saw Diane Dodds' implosion on The Politics Show today, then I think Allister has a very good chance of being elected!
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Fat chance JPSLotus79, as Peter Robinson has had many a little implosion over the course of the last year and I somehow imagine it won't affect him at the polls.
Same way Arlene Foster left her council seat ages ago, she legislated against double-jobbing at Stormont, only for her to recently seek election to her local council and she won; meaning she accepts the fact that she works triple jobbing. 1)DETI / Economy Minister 2) MLA 3) Councillor.
Electoral politics here is in a shoddy state. 1,2,3 DUP and all that.
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Mark
INSIDE POLITICS SEEMS LIKE A LONG SEVEN DAYS................ ......but
It hurts me to say this but (& theres always a but) the new Inside Politics isnt doing it, as I intimated might be the case in Post 8 of a previous Blog.
The interview with Mrs Dodds was great but, as in previous programmes, the before & after leave a lot to be desired.
Im sure the now-regular contributors to your Programme Ms OConnor & Prof Elliot are very nice people, very big and successful in their own BT9 field but............. how can I say this without meaning to offend? Theres no other way, Mark, THEYRE BORING!
Wishy-washy doesnt get me going. The programme needs jizz! I want political blood on the carpet. I want contributors to get the audience involved; to care about the issues. At the moment, it aint happening in your Programme. I dont want to suggest names for Inside Politics in case it puts the kiss of death on them but there are plenty.
PS: The Truth and Gerry Adams? Can those words be used together?
Susie
Carryduff
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#3 Yes that is true and yesterday's debate just proved the dearth of political talent that we have here. Personally I'm more likely to write "NONE OF THE ABOVE," on the ballot than vote for any of that lot. I work in an office with a broad cross section of people and in the past no one discussed voting intention, this time people are discussing it mainly to say "They're all useless and I'm not voting!" I guess that is progress of a sort!!
As regards the outcome, until yesterday I would have thought that the DUP, SF and CU would have got a seat each, now I'm not so sure. De Bruin will top the poll, setting off furious recriminations in the DUP, they have based a lot of their electoral appeal on being able to top the poll in Euro elections, which is nothing special in itself but the DUP have made it seem critical. Allister will certainly do well enough to establish TUV as a viable entity for the medium term, it will be interesting to see that if he gets elected he attracts more defections from the DUP, and not just backwoodsmen councillors from the bible belt but more substantial figures. Nicholson is a weak candidate but he isn't as borderline cuckcoo as Dodds and doesn't have any of Allister's more extreme opinions. It could well be that DUP and TUV voters have such a loathing of each other that they transfer to Nicholson and allow him to limp over the line. Magennis was disappointing, he will need a lot of transfers from De Bruin and Alliance and Green. I still expect Dodds to get in, but the chances of her failing and of Allister succeeding have both risen.
While all this was going on, did anyone catch the story about Gerry Adams' claiming that he and his fellows prisoners in the Maze used to sing "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" while inside? The only problem is that Adams was released from the Kesh in 1977 while The Life Of Brian wasn't released until 1979! So either Adams can see into the future or he had another spell in the klink that he hasn't been letting on about!!!
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I thought Jim N came across much better than the other two Unionist candidates, Stormontspy... Jim Allistair came over more like Davros with his increasingly spiteful ranting style grating at one point. Diane Dodds... hmmm... seems to be getting more and more whinny and certainly did herself no favours.
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Anyone who watched the politics show and still votes for Dodds is either completely insane or more loyal to the DUP than Northern Ireland itself (yes this election is about Northern Ireland, not the DUP!)
Diane was slipping up everywhere, clearly not having a clue about the European issues
I do think Jim Allister perhaps fell into the DUP trap of focusing on local issues rather than EU ones. The EU of course being the area he absolutely destroys Dodds and the DUP. He should have focused more on it as his record is second to none.
Diane came across as incredibly yappy and as having a total lack of knowledge. And when we did see them talk about EU issues like PEACE and DEFRA she was completely wrong on both accounts. Firstly accusing the two Jim's of not getting enough for unionist victims. Then it was pointed out to her DUP collegues have seats at this commitee but never both turning up!! then she was put down by all 3 MEP's after he ludicrous claim that they have never met with DEFRA. utter nonsense. But what do we expect from the ill-informed?
This election needs to see the return of Jim Alister as Diane has proven she is totally out of her depth and lacking in all areas when it comes to the issues
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Re #7 traditional_unionist
I agree almost entirely with what you're saying. Thinking back about the Politics Show, various candidates, Jim Allister included, did come across as knowledgable and competent, to which Diane Dodds was almost embarrassing in her lack of knowledge on key European issues. But the one sticking point that I have with Jim was that he just doesn't seem to be willing to be a team player. He soundly beat Diane in every argument but I think after the elections we need three MEPs who are willing to work together for the betterment of all here.
PS After a solid turnout by the Green's Steven Agnew, they've now managed to get my second preference vote. Previously the Greens were a party I wasn't even considering!
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It's being reported on Slugger O'Toole that 2 DUP Councillors, Harry Greenaway in Dungannon and Deirdre Nelson in Ballymena are defecting to the UUP and The Tories respectively.
I really doubt that they would be doing this if Nicholson was about to crash and burn! Perhaps after Diane's "someone please save her dignity and throw a brick at her!" performance yesterday they've seen the writing on the wall?
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Mark
Iain Duncan Smith was over with Nicholson today, and Eric Pickles on Saturday there. Not worth a mention?
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