Opinion

Sinn Féin base must be bewildered by McGuinness' generosity to Foster

"No gimmicks, no grandstanding", say Foster-McGuinness 
"No gimmicks, no grandstanding", say Foster-McGuinness  "No gimmicks, no grandstanding", say Foster-McGuinness 

THE two figures who look set to dominate the foreseeable future here tell us there'll be no more `filling the airwaves with squabbles', they've agreed a way forward.

We are meant to be pleased, preferably in silence. But - even with the help of recently hired very skilled hand, ex-investigative journalist and former hound of Stormont sloth and general skulduggery David Gordon - the Arlene-Martin combo cannot manage the media into meek acceptance just yet.

Their (no doubt Gordon-drafted) announcement of yet another shackled-together phase coincided in this paper yesterday with the Pat Finucane Centre eye-catching blank pages, plus yet more niggles about a surreal Sinn Féin cultural society in receipt of entirely real, use it in the shops, Stormont-paid expenses.

No matter; the top job-sharers dismiss all criticism now in perfect harmony. Arlene Foster snaps at questioners, professes herself `disappointed' by criticism like some old-fashioned head teacher. Martin McGuinness goes for tones of superiority as in his slap-down of former UK standards in public life commissioner Alastair Graham: "We are accountable to our own electorate."

The Social Investment Fund that pays out to enterprises like Charter NI (Chief Executive Officer Dee Stitt) has "widespread support within our community", says McGuinness. If he doesn't know what his community thinks of the UDA pocketing cash with his blessing then the Stormont cocoon has truly put him in a trance. What Foster's community makes of it, like their general attitude to loyalist paramilitaries, is always harder to read.

In other legislatures, the temptation is to channel funds towards old friends, business acquaintances. Our local twist includes old comrades and supporters on the republican side, while their executive partners are pledged to help `transitioning' loyalists, however slight the transition process. Foster is alternately proud/belligerent about that, defensive/resentful, and repeat. McGuinness is more erratic, like the loyalists.

McGuinness was proud initially of the `process' (how our new establishment love that word), evasive when the predictable Stitt hit the fan, then quite the mystery man as in his comment that CEO Stitt should `consider his position'. Thus repeating in other words, the hopes of Arlene and Sir Jeffrey that Stitt might do the decent thing.

At almost the same moment as the DUP shimmied away from that position. Yet a further thought struck the DFM, re Sir Alastair: how dare he. Graham may broadcast too often, but he knows his subject.

McGuinness generosity towards the take-all, give-nothing Foster must surely bewilder even the clued-up SF `base'. What did they make, for example, of last Thursday night's DUP/SF joint television appearance by Emma Little Pengelly and John O'Dowd, who delivered clashing Stitt comments side by side without once openly contradicting each other. You think that sentence makes no sense?

If however you saw the first run-out of Snow White and the not-too-Friendly Huntsman - or maybe it was meant to be a mash-up, modern-style, of Snow White and the Big, not-too Friendly Giant? - you know exactly what it means. Panto-time.

Little-Pengelly is the DUP’s reliable robot, deliverer of non-answers with added telly-worth; the white, white skin, black black hair, red red lips of...Snow White. Paired with the extremely tall, rip-snorting (or used to be), defiantly un-polished John O'Dowd, Little Pengelly turned old DUP custom and practice upside-down. A while back her party could only bring themselves to sit beside SF-ers by refusing to look at them. Now the principal girl cast little (she did, really) glances at her big unsmiling fellow-player, as though doubting he'd stick to the script. The giant ignored her, but rapped out his lines.

Just before they got off stage he made a single lunge - negotiated at the last minute with new Executive spin-doctor and panto-director Gordon? More likely provoked by Denis Bradley, player in nobody else's show. Taking part in a separate discussion about the issues parked because the DUPs won't have them, Bradley said SF and DUP should jointly demand British government money for inquests, and the PSNI had questions to answer about continuing loyalist crime. The parties were up to their hard task, said O'Dowd in his old gruff manner, the question was if the police were up to theirs.

Umm. But at one Policing Board meeting after another, do the SF and indeed the SDLP representatives go after Chief Constable George Hamilton on this very question? If they do it must be in a whisper. Yet another kind of pantomime, another kind of mash-up. "No gimmicks, no grandstanding", say Foster-McGuinness. All together now in the seasonal spirit: ho ho ho.