Pathway to failure?
So much for that wave of optimism around nine o'clock last night. Things started cooling off in the early hours of the morning and didn't get any warmer after that.
Around lunchtime, we got word that the prime ministers were preparing to leave without agreement, but had in mind a pathway to success which they would entrust to the stewardship of Shaun Woodward and Micheal Martin.
But hang on a moment, had Sinn Fein not demanded prime ministerial involvement on the grounds that mere ministers had not proved able to help the party overcome their remaining obstacles?
We were summoned into a room inside the castle not far from where Tony Blair once talked about the hand of history on his shoulder.
But this was not to be a repeat performance. There was a brief comic interlude when Gerry Adams in shirt sleeves walked in by accident, not realising the press had assembled there.
It was a little reminiscent of the moment when Cherie Blair went to open her front door the morning after becoming the wife of the prime minister.
I had to leave the castle because our lunchtime news was about to go on air, but as I walked I started getting texts from politicians telling me that another round table session was in progress.
However in contrast to last night's smiling pictures, they said the mood was bad and Sinn Fein were very upset.
Messrs Brown and Cowan revealed their May target date for the transfer or powers and assured reporters they could see a way forward.
If the parties won't agree, they are set to publish their proposals at the end of the week. But both PMs had to deal with a barrage of accusations they had presided over a dismal failure.
Not surprisingly, they didn't agree. Martin McGuinness then took the microphone to spell out his deep disappointment but refused to answer questions about whether he would resign as Deputy First Minister.
Peter Robinson told us the DUP wouldn't buy a pig in a poke or accept a second rate deal to meet someone elses deadline.
However you dress it up, it is going to be difficult for the governments to turn matters around.
If this is a pathway to success I'm not quite sure what a pathway to failure looks like.
I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~58~RS~)
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Mark you could tell in Brown and Cowen's voices just how exasperated and *****d off they are! They will not be rushing back here anytime soon! I said the other day that these talks would end with a nebulous communique which would allow Brown and Cowen to be well clear of the scene when the final implosion happens. That's looking set for lunchtime Friday.
I do support devolution and localism as a principle but we haven't got politicians capable of governing in the wider public interest, since 2007 it's all been about putting one over on "dem'uns!" I wouldn't let any of this current lot run a bath!
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Here we go again if we cant have Orange Feet on Garvaghey Street (road)then we get no progress. Hear some DUPers saying no-ones fussed about P&J its jobs we need, remember all the jobs we could have had if the Maze project had gone ahead. the DUPers killed that one. By the way Wee Jeffery has gone missing again anyone seen him?
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His high heels are in getting serviced so he actually is there. Just the he is always below the camera shots
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Please please can we get real about politics in N.Ireland?
We have proved time and time again that we cannot govern ourselves.
As indicated this week when things get difficult we send for the grown ups to sort things out. Unfortunately this did not work this time. Can we now go back to the only scenario that works i.e. direct rule?
You know it makes sense.
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There is a failure to agree clause in the St Andrews Agreement that permits the governments to step in and pick up where they left off, pre-St Andrews.
It would be possible for the 'constitutional nonsense' problem to be overcome by invoking that 'failure' clause and defining and creating a policing & justice department in consultation with the parties. The existing assembly can be wrapped up and the pay cut off to the parties and relatives - till agreement is reached between them (and with all Unionist ones if possible).
Once sorted out, the governments would then recall assembly elections with the post already created as a result of a combination of inter-governmental and cross-party work and the legislative draughting via Westminster.
Unionists get a fait accompli and nationalists get what they want, if public opinion is correct the unionists who live out their lives in accordance with wider popular culture than say the conservative-political and religous one will not care a damn and even those that straddle both stools will largely accept the reality of it. Particularly if it falls into their laps pre-cooked with the big and proper governments doing all the tedious and pain-staking work on our local MLAs behalf.
The unionist hardliners can be contained so long as this is cooked up within a year. Nationalists score a propaganda victory in terms of showing that unionist lack the proper vision of sharing power and inability to take difficult decisions.
Unionist seem to fail in being able to re-educate their base, so ultimately they are trapped by it and in the past.
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Jeffery wears high heels? Do you know more than us? If they are in for servicing maybe he is getting ready for a walk or maybe even a jig somewhere? But is it not strange that at times like this he goes off the radar.
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OK Gregory, you won. Where would you like us Catholics to send our voting cards to, if you had your way entirely, no Catholic would have any job other than a labourer or pot scrubber.
Afrikaner politics, partisan politics, sectarian politics; none of these work any more.
It's the 21st century not the 17th century.
Catholic nationalist/republican people are not animals, we are citizens who want to be treated with respect.
It's the 21st century not the 17th century.
The partition of this Island is the root of all our problems.
Time for a scraping of the failed Good Friday agreement.
Time for a referendum on the issue of the repartition of Ireland, a referendum stretching from the Shetlands to Penzance, from Malin head to Mizen head, from Galway to Great Yarmouth.
The Irish question has now to be answered and answered properly, people are sick to the teeth of the Orange Order again holding up progress,
Pathetic lot!!!
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Am I the only Unionist who is beginning to think the Joint Authority of London and Dublin would be a better governance than the shambles we have at present? The only Unionist who seems to talk common sense is Reg Empey but he says that while at Hillsborough he didn't see one scrap of paper, so his chances of influencing anything look small.
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Mark
A WORD FOR THE ASSEMBLY
And it's an 'F' word. It's there in every aspect of this Assembly’s performance.
• Failure to deliver anything of significance
• Fake expenses claims
• Fallacious arguments in support of issues such as the benefits of devolved P & J.
• False promises on just about everything
• Fanatical bigotry across the two main parties
• Fanciful claims about the value of the peace process
• Farcical pantomime performances on every day those cretins sit in the Chamber.
• Fascistic dogmatism exemplified by the dictatorial actions of the DUP/Sinn Fein Axis
• Fiscal fiddling to ensure that DUP/Sinn Fein Ministers get preferential treatment.
• Flawed Ministers and MLAs whose incompetence is only matched by their inertia.
• Flawed political process
• Frittering away public money e.g. three Victims' Commissioners, costly Irish language & Ulster-Scots translations and Assembly roadshows.
• Future Failure guaranteed.
I defy anyone to have a discussion about this Assembly without using an 'F' word. Somehow it seems so appropriate.
PS: I think a 'W' word might also punctuate most conversations about the Assembly's performance.
Susie
Carryduff
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Mark,
Some people have asked about Jeffrey Donaldson. According to the victims group FAIR, various victims meet Jeffrey and the DUP yesterday (Tuesday). According to FAIR "victims were cruelly snubbed"... "They were shouted down at every opportunity and their concerns belittled by Jeffery Donaldson"....
Seems like Jeffrey has some explaining to do....
Stormontspy
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Susie,
As always your 100% correct. Maybe when Gordon Brown is trying to sort out Parading and Policing & Justice he could help sort out -
1. Maze Site
2. Policing and Justice Powers
3. Poverty Action Plan
4. Child Poverty
5. Modernisation Programmes
6. Mental Health Support
7. Clostridium Difficile / Hospital infections
8. Northern Ireland Water
9. Traffic Calming Measures
10. Road Infrastructure
11. Housing Executive
12. Social Housing Projects
13. Fuel Duty
14. Anti-Social Behaviour
15. Transfer Test
16. £370m savings
17. Bain report
18. Cohesion, Shared, Integration document
19. Too many MLA's
20. Too many Government departments
21. Back pay for lower grade Civil Servants
22. Fiddling of expenses
23. Abuse of children by religious organisations of all persuasions
24. Review of Public Administration
25. Presbyterian Mutual Society
26. Compensation from Libyan Government
27. Definition of a victim
28. Irish Language bill
Last but not least -
FAILURE TO GOVERN THE BLOODY COUNTRY!
Stormontspy
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Stormontspy
CALLING JEFFREY, WHERE ARE YOU?
I suspect Jeffrey is in a darkened room somewhere in the bowels of Lagan Valley, worrying about what the Sunday papers might reveal in the very near future. ("Mummy, why do they all hate me?")
PS: I knew you would produce one of your very accurate lists. Failures & Wasters the lot of 'em.
Susie
Carryduff
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Susie,
Thanks. You helped in it too. I suspect if we dug deeper, the list would become longer.
Every Sunday is like Christmas Eve until the papers reveal what they have. Do you know which one? When it does come it will be like Christmas every day of the week!!
Stormontspy
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People have the right to vote. People should vote for the party that aims to give them progress and results. If the public are unhappy with the current goings on at Stormont then I would urge you to vote for the more moderate parties, who have been shown over many years of being able to work together and *compromise*, something the hardliner parties seem to be continually unwilling to do. More power to SDLP, Alliance, UUP ( I agree with portstewartpenny, Reg Empey is a lot more conciliatory than Peter Robinson and all the baggage he carries ), Greens, ... If we want to improve life here, use your vote and vote for parties who will do so, otherwise bring in joint rule and show the hardliners how to govern.
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Mark,
If there is an Assembly on Monday it would be interesting to know a few things from the 2 newest MLA's.
With Jonathan Bell why did the long term anti-agreement unionist join the DUP Assembly team - to work with Sinn Fein in a fascist coalition?
What happened to "no terrorists in government"?
As for Conall McDevitt why does he oppose Sinn Fein/IRA when he is the son of an Official IRA internee and the great grandson of a Belfast republican socialist, Danny McDevitt?
Why did he quit the SDLP in December 1999?
Why did he quit the SDLP for a second time?
Why did he come back for a 3rd time?
When will he quit for a 3rd time?
Stormontspy
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Stormontspy
Before I read your comment I knew it would be sectarian!!!
Like a fool you write: "As for Conall McDevitt why does he oppose Sinn Fein...when he is the son of an Official IRA internee and the great grandson of a Belfast republican socialist, Danny McDevitt"
What you are telling us is that, because someone is born into a family aligned to a certain ideology, this person, whom you reckon has no mind of their own, has to follow in the footsteps of their father who in turn has to follow in the footsteps of their father and so on...
Give the man some credit and allow him to have his own political opinion. And would you for once on this blog show people that you have taken off the red, white and blue glasses you forgot to take off last summer.
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DisgustedinDERRY,
I think it is you who comes out with sectarian comments. I am sure spinspamspun7 would agree!!
How many times do I need to tell you? I do not support any political party. I think they are as bad as each other.
Stormontspy
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This is an excellent analysis and describes the mood perfectly. Down in the dumps as Stormont goes down the pan.
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Stormontspy, interesting analysis.
Shows that the DUP-SF team up has certainly not hit the ground running.
I think paying politicians 40k per year since the 2003 suspension has only encouraged inefficiency and tardiness within the existing Stormont administration. If they got 40k per year for doing nothing till 2007 they were hardly going to vigorously bother themselves today in tackling those issues raised above.
Far too comfortable.
The Platform for Change group has a policy document out which shows that there was more strategic thinking done under direct rule than that issued out of the existing Stormont regime. Particularly on good relations strategies and the environment.
Ideologies have gotten in the way and blocked a range of things. Your list is quite helpful in showing everything that has been junked and vetoed rather than tackled and offered as proof of product. Personally a shared Maze stadium had the chance to project a positive regional identity through hosting quality cross-community sports, some of which likely to be televised to reinforce this image to domestic and international audiences.
But still, who am I to have an opinion.
Not to mention both parties are mired in controversies, which some might say haven't gone away yano.
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#8
A sad post !!!
Why do you pretend to chuck in the towel ???
As Brian Cowen, Taoisech, said all this agreements must include
respect to other cultures !!!
You address Gregory in your post !!!
Not one I would want to speak to !!!
Never mind your rants and selective ramblings since 17thC,
this is 2010 !!!
Marty McGuinness being disgusted, tear in the eye, been
here, many times before !!! I ask you !!!
2010+RESPECT and we might all stumble forward !!!
Disgustedinderry can you respond, or are you limited by your party to what you can say ???
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