JOURNALISTS and commentators are fast running out of adjectives to describe the past week at Stormont. Outrageous, unedifying, shambles – all are appropriate whether individually or collectively. It has been a object lesson in how not to govern and in the midst of a the biggest health crisis in living memory, that is shameful.
It’s convenient to attack Stormont in its totality – Jim Allister quipped earlier this week that what was required was a “circus breaker” rather than a circuit breaker – and while sometimes there is merit in criticising most if not all the parties and the clunky, arduous manner of the executive’s decision-making process, on this occasion it’s obvious where the problem lies.
The DUP, in seeking to impose what is seemingly its laissez faire, devil may care approach to coronavirus, has adopted a scorched earth policy that has left relations in the executive at their lowest point since December 2016 when public outcry over RHI was at its height.
The party’s cynical deployment of the cross-community vote, not once but twice, astounded most observers, many of whom were unaware the veto mechanism even existed. It set a new low in terms of political expediency, before the DUP had the audacity to cast the final outcome as a compromise rather than a coercion that saw Alliance and the Ulster Unionists acquiesce through fear of a wholesale lifting of restrictions at midnight last night.
The executive has been through the mill before and emerged showing a united front. In the immediate aftermath of the ‘week of shame’, it’s difficult to see how relations can be mended quickly but no sooner will the dust from the events of recent days settle than ministers will again be faced with difficult decisions on Covid.
It’s worth pointing out that Health Minister Robin Swann first brought his paper proposing extending restrictions by a fortnight to his ministerial colleagues on Thursday November 5 – more than a week before the measures that were in place expired. However, instead of tackling the issue there and then, the DUP and Sinn Féin sought to delay making a decision, denying businesses valuable time to plan for what was coming.
Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill has since made a virtue of the fact that she moved from the position agreed with the DUP, as outlined in her BBC interview last Sunday, after hearing the medical advice. Everybody is entitled to change their mind, especially on the basis of strong scientific evidence, but that fails to explain why she felt it necessary to publicise a plan that by her own later admission had gaping holes in it.
Perhaps after some reflection, lessons may be learned and whatever the coming days bring in terms of a rise or fall in coronavirus cases, all ministers should recognise the necessity to act responsibly and ensure there’s no more eleventh hour showdowns.
Public confidence in the institutions has been sapped by a week of cynicism, recrimination and incompetence. We can only hope Monday brings a new week, new approach.
