Election Trail
with Mark Devenport

As we head in to the final days of the election campaign, it has to be said that it’s been a pretty mild-mannered affair. The unseemly scenes of violence and abuse, kicking, punching and gouging were confined to the football field when so-called fans of Linfield and Glentoran got stuck into each other at the Oval on Saturday.

The political debate was stirred only briefly when the DUP leader Ian Paisley hurled a few insults towards rival David Trimble by suggesting he would be facing the electric chair or the hangman’s noose.

On the campaign trail East Antrim hopeful, the UUP’s Roy Beggs joined the Jamie Oliver school dinners campaign when he invited a number of top chefs, including Paul Rankin to cook up some gourmet meals for Larne school kids. Unfortunately none of them will be old enough to give him their vote!

For the DUP, dinner was an altogether posher affair when a delegation, including the party leader, the Robinsons, Jeffrey and Gregory Campbell were invited to a slap-up meal with some of the Republic’s top businessmen in Dublin. It’s a long way from the days when Peter Robinson refused to eat any food while being held in custody in Dublin following his Clontibret adventure.

Meanwhile, the Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams continues to insist his appeal to the IRA was definitely not an election ploy – even though he keeps dropping it into conversation during his campaign. He says the IRA are currently holding a debate about its future.

One wonders if they follow Trinity College or Oxford Union debating strictures. Does the IRA’s “Green Book” have a special section on points of order?

Real issues got a quick look-in during the week, with all the main parties coming out to state their opposition to proposed water charges. Cynics may wonder why they were all so quiet about that opposition when the Assembly was up and running. Instead all they asked was what kind of charges we all wanted – water meters or a fixed rate.

The SDLP’s Seamus Mallon bowed out this week with a dire warning for the electorate. In his speech he pointed out that voting for the two extreme parties could force Northern Ireland into a Balkans style territorial carve-up between Green and Orange.

The Alliance Party was on a similar theme in its manifesto launch this week. Party leader David Ford said a vote for his party was the only way to break out of the mould of tribal politics.

And finally – the electoral office has issued its usual reminder about possible confusion over the two different voting systems on polling day. In 2001 – the last time the local and Westminster elections were held on the same day around 20,000 votes reckoned to have been accidentally spoiled in the council elections and nearly 10,000 in the general election.

So remember X marks the spot for Westminster and 1,2 ,3 for the councils.

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