IT'S 17 weeks since the last SDLP conference and the election of a new party leader.
Going by the old adage, that’s a long time in politics - and certainly enough time for Colum Eastwood to have stamped his identity on things.
Yet there have been murmurings both inside and outside the SDLP that the Foyle MLA has yet to make an impact; yet to differentiate this leadership from that of his predecessor Alasdair McDonnell.
The 32-year-old Mr Eastwood and the South Belfast MP are very different personalities – the former represents youthful vigour and renewal; the latter was gaffe-prone and indecisive.
But that distinction alone will not revive the SDLP’s ailing fortunes. What the party grassroots want and what the electorate perhaps wants is something that demonstrates a clear direction. A vision that can inspire party members and attract fresh votes in less than eight weeks’ time.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be a ‘big idea’, just something that marks the SDLP out from its past incarnations.
The party is rightly proud of its role in the civil rights movement and delivering the Good Friday Agreement. However, it now needs new impetus and fresh ideas.
The SDLP must also distinguish itself from Sinn Féin, though its movement is constrained both to the right and to the left.
To date, beyond labouring the concept of ‘progressive nationalism’, the only notable strategic change under the Eastwood leadership has been calling Saturday’s snap-conference in Derry.
Switching from the traditional autumn to a spring ‘outward looking’ conference may indeed be a better option in the long run.
This year, in the mouth an election that will see Sinn Féin First Minister Martin McGuinness stand in his home city, the timing and choice of venue bore more than a whiff of opportunism. But holding its three Foyle assembly seats is crucial to the SDLP and its survival, so rallying supporters in ‘the citadel’ weeks before the election may yet prove decisive.
The daytime proceedings at St Columb’s Hall lacked spark and gave the impression people were just going through the motions.
When it came to the televised leader’s speech in the evening, however, the atmosphere, like the venue’s lighting, was transformed.
Colum Eastwood‘s first proper conference address had the right proportions of style and substance and was arguably the best an SDLP leader has delivered for a decade.
He laid down foundations the party can build upon around identity and reconciliation, while spelling out firmer commitments on investment in skills and regional redistribution.
There was no big idea but perhaps there was just enough fresh thinking to maintain the momentum of renewal.
It is an unenviable task the young leader has on his hands, as just six months into his leadership he faces what is arguably the most important election in the SDLP’s history.
Stemming the slide and stabilising his party’s vote would be a success for Mr Eastwood, but against a background of growing nationalist apathy even that goal may prove elusive.
