TRADITIONALLY DUP leaders always had a bit of swagger – Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson, even Arlene Foster, initially at least, possessed a cockiness that grew in the face of others’ disdain and was usually vindicated at the polls.
But the DUP under Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is a different beast, less sure footed, to say the least, and at times looking in complete disarray.
The party gathered on Saturday to finalise a list of assembly election candidates that it had hoped to have in place weeks ago. The process has been marked by disagreement, squabbling and the public humiliation – for the second time in a year – of Edwin Poots, who finally found a home in South Belfast as a result of a cruel twist of fate.
Choosing candidates to run in Lagan Valley was always going to be trying for Sir Jeffery after he became leader at the second attempt but little did we imagine that it would play out so chaotically.
Running three candidates was high risk, while only having two on the card looked defeatist – the DUP leader has opted for the latter, which speaks volumes about his confidence, or rather lack thereof, heading into the election.
Much of the party’s candidate selection saga has taken place amid the fallout from Paul Givan’s resignation from the executive, a tactic from which it is difficult to discern one advantage the DUP has gained, apart from stopping Jim Allister’s hectoring.
As far as its stated aim of getting rid of the protocol goes, it’s been an abject failure and a move that if past experience is anything to go by will most likely damage the party at the polls further.
Ultimately, all the DUP’s woes date back to June 2016 and Leave’s unexpected victory in the EU referendum.
Again, it’s hard to see a single benefit the party has enjoyed, while the negative ramifications are countless.
Yet rather than take stock and acknowledge its missteps, the uncompromising approach that was once the DUP’s strength is now proving to be its downfall.
With every step it takes to demonstrate it is as committed to the union as the TUV, the DUP alienates moderates who would’ve once been convinced enough by the party’s desire 'to make Northern Ireland work'.
But that has now been sacrificed to the overriding aim of self-interest, an executive left impotent in the face of a crisis that deepens by the day.
Perhaps we should expect the swagger to diminish further on the other side of the election, though once again it'll be everybody else's fault but the DUP's.
