As we enter yet another week of complete political stalemate at Stormont, two predictions can be safely made. The first is that there sooner or later another round of negotiations will get under way and the second is that the DUP will return to the table in a weakened position.
It is bitterly disappointing that what appeared to be a reasonable deal, which initially seemed to have the backing of the key players and was plainly at an advanced stage of discussion, did not get over the line last week.
The finger pointing which has followed along tribal lines has been predictable, and blame can certainly be directed in some form against all sides, but it is the DUP's position which is under particular scrutiny.
It was DUP figures who plainly briefed in advance that a breakthrough was expected, and created a climate in which the Irish and British prime ministers were made to look ill-informed by arriving in Belfast on this day last week to endorse an accommodation which never materialised.
The chances of Leo Varadkar and Theresa May making a return journey without explicit guarantees about the outcome are extremely slim, so it is up to our main parties to patiently revisit the central issues.
Sinn Féin should accept that the details over the proposed Irish language legislation needed to be placed in the public domain at a much earlier stage to ensure that some of the hugely exaggerated claims about the wider implications could have been addressed.
The DUP should also acknowledge that it was ready to enter into an understanding over a three-stranded initiative which would allow balanced treatment for both the Irish and Ulster-Scots traditions culminating in an overall diversity act.
Both of the largest groups should also recognise that their combined support in the last Assembly elections amounted to just 56 per cent of voters and it is essential, in what remains a sharply divided society, that differing views and the mandate of other parties are taken into consideration in the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.
Sinn Féin leaders are due to meet Mr Varadkar today, and plan further talks with Mrs May later in the week, but it remains to be seen when the DUP will feel ready to resume its role in the process.
While we have come through a depressing period, it is clear that at least some progress has already been made, and, with flexibility across the board and above all a climate of mutual respect in place, the return of our devolved structures remains an achievable objective.
