Robin Swann and the Ulster Unionist Party have rightly drawn criticism for giving the clear impression that being health minister at Stormont is less important than being an MP at Westminster.
Mr Swann is unlikely to be alone among the current crop of executive ministers to contest the general election. Though the Alliance Party have yet to give a straight answer about her candidacy, justice minister Naomi Long will fancy her chances in East Belfast. And if the DUP is to stand any chance of retaining the Lagan Valley seat, it will probably have to call upon one of its ministers; Paul Givan, currently at education, is perhaps the most obvious choice.
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But it is the utterly dire state of our health and social care system which makes the UUP manoeuvring look particularly cynical.
Mr Swann, whose personal popularity already outstrips his own party’s thanks to his steady handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, stands accused of calculating that another spell as health minister could only bolster his profile against the DUP’s lacklustre incumbent South Antrim MP, Paul Girvan.
It is, however, ludicrous to say that the fate of the health service relies solely on Mr Swann and his parliamentary ambitions.
There is a deeper underlying problem: the executive’s allergy to taking hard decisions.
The crisis afflicting our health and social care system is, quite literally, a matter of life and death. It might have been expected that Stormont’s largest parties would have shown some leadership when the executive returned in February and given the health department the status their pontificating suggested by making it one of their ministerial picks, if not the first. Neither Sinn Féin nor the DUP have offered a vaguely credible explanation as to why they swerved taking on health.
There is still no programme for government and little coherence as to what this executive wants to achieve. Five ministers turned up to the opening of a distillery last week... Organising a gathering in a brewery has thus far eluded them
Many of the already years-delayed decisions that should be urgently taken in health and social care are politically difficult. Sinn Féin and the DUP, happiest when peddling populist policies, have shown zero enthusiasm for doing anything that might be regarded as remotely unpopular.
It is striking that there is still no programme for government and little coherence as to what this executive wants to achieve, beyond a stream of platitudes and photo opportunities. Five ministers turned up to the opening of a distillery last week, which seems to be indicative of where priorities lie. Organising a gathering in a brewery has thus far eluded them.
Mr Swann now says he needs another £1 billion to fix the health service, a suspiciously round number which should be treated with the scepticism it deserves.
More money may help, but more than that we need a plan, decisions, accountability and action. We need leadership. Is this executive capable of delivering?
