From Unity, 13 February 2010

Half full or half empty?

by John Pinkerton

Last week saw a deal finally struck between Sinn Féin and the DUP on policing and justice. This represents an important further step in the implementation of the Belfast and St Andrews Agreements. The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, may regard the achievements of this deal as “as great as they are inspirational.” But if discussions in homes, work-places, bars and the media are anything to go by, most of people in the North were distinctly underwhelmed by the time it took and by the spirit of the talks.
     A clear timetable has been set out.
     This week the First Minister and Deputy First Minister will hold a meeting of party leaders to consider applications for the post of Minister of Justice. It is likely to be David Ford, the leader of the cross-community Alliance Party.
     On the 9th of March, following community consultation (what form that will take is not clear), the First Minister and Deputy First Minister will table a resolution in the Assembly for a cross-community vote. If passed, that will lead to the devolution of powers by the 12th of April. The British government will also need to put through amendments to the devolution legislation in Westminster.
     The contentious issue of parades was neutralised for the time being through agreement that the First and Deputy First Ministers would chair a working group of six people with experience of the issues tasked to find a way forward within three weeks. Other matters dealt with include the independence of the judiciary and the Chief Constable, improving the functioning of the Executive, dealing with outstanding Executive business, and dealing with outstanding issues from the St Andrews Agreement.
     The preamble to the text of the agreement claims it is expressing a spirit of partnership. Yet much of the ten days of negotiating seemed to suggest an altogether different spirit. Comments by the DUP leader Peter Robinson on the “clever devices” in the document to test each side’s good faith, and the DUP minister Edwin Poots’s comment that “bad faith on one side will be met by bad faith on the other” give a more accurate view.
     The political reality is that there continues to be “no other game in town,” and so even those politicians with no vision beyond looking after their own have to play. The welcome final decommissioning of weapons last week by the INLA, Official IRA and South-East Antrim Brigade breakaway of the UDA further underlined that there is no going back.
     Gordon Brown was wrong to hype the political achievements of last week, but he was right when he urged people to “seize this opportunity for a better future.” The challenge facing the left and the labour movement is to find a way to turn empty rhetoric into a full People’s Politics.

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