Opinion

Alex Kane: DUP deep in mess of its own making

Alex Kane

Alex Kane

Alex Kane is an Irish News columnist and political commentator and a former director of communications for the Ulster Unionist Party.

The DUP need to work out how to extract themselves from a mess of their own making. Picture by Mal McCann
The DUP need to work out how to extract themselves from a mess of their own making. Picture by Mal McCann The DUP need to work out how to extract themselves from a mess of their own making. Picture by Mal McCann

THERE has been so much focus on the Irish language aspects of the draft agreement that most people have missed the fact that much of the rest of it is bland, vague, promissory and weak.

For example: "The Parties recognise the importance of engendering a greater sense of collectivity and collegiality in the operation of the Executive."

Or, "The Parties recognise the need to move forward with important reforms across many aspects of the public sector, to improve outcomes for citizens and assist the Executive in placing our public finances on a long term sustainable footing."

I have seen variations on those themes in every Programme for Government since 2007.

They came up in the Stormont House Agreement, Fresh Start and the joint article by Foster and McGuinness in November 2016.

Nothing has been done about them in the last decade and nothing will be done about them in the future.

That's why they are couched in such vague, downright ambiguous language.

We have also been promised a 'Coalition Management Committee' to, among other things, "keep the Programme for Government under scrutiny; create greater collectively in decision making; avoid surprises (honestly, that's what it says); manage areas of disagreement; and build on areas where there is agreement."

Again, we've been promised all of this since May 2007 and, as evidenced by the fact that it's in the latest draft, nothing has been done about it. Nor will be.

Nothing has been done about the Petition of Concern (PoC), other than the setting up of an Ad-Hoc Committee to "review the ways in which (it) might be adapted".

Same-sex marriage will be "fully considered... in the form of a Private Member's Bill", yet the failure to agree reform of the PoC means that the bill could - probably would - be killed off by 30-plus votes from the DUP/UUP/TUV. Instead of one week to solve a problem the period will be extended to 18 weeks.

A proposed Bill of Rights has been kicked into the long grass.

There would be a "Ministerial Sub-Committee... to deal with Brexit-related issues". Yea - that's going to help bridge the chasm between the DUP and the majority of MLAs who oppose Brexit.

This is the same guff we've seen over and over again. Sinn Féin insisted that there would be no return to the status quo; but seem to have forgotten that the bedrock of the status quo has been a series of 'agreed' documents and agreements and accommodations that never get beyond the drawing board.

Yet, according to this draft they have fallen into the same-old, same-old routine.

Some people have argued that the DUP did 'rather well' in these negotiations.

Hmm. If no change on same-sex marriage, the PoC, Bill of Rights and nothing set in stone for dealing with serial crises and sustainability issues counts as doing 'rather well,' then yes, maybe they did.

But when set against the provisions for an Irish Language Act, the unionist reaction to it, the panic-fuelled retreat from the talks process and the embarrassing revelations of the document released to Eamonn Mallie and Brian Rowan, then the DUP are on what's known as Mrs Abraham Lincoln territory: "But apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"

I'll consider the language provisions in another column, but will say this for now: If you are even considering the possibility of shifting your position on a key policy issue, then it is always advisable to start preparing your base well in advance.

The DUP ended up like Jim from the Vicar of Dibley - the character who says, "No, no, no, no, no, no... yes."

On February 17, Arlene Foster said: "There was no agreement nor draft agreement."

On the 19th, Gregory Campbell went further: "Sinn Féin have made out that a deal was almost done and that a draft agreement was in place. Let me be clear, there was no draft deal."

By the 20th, the Mallie/Rowan document was in the public domain and Edwin Poots admitted to BBC's Spotlight that he had had a hand in writing it.

This is hugely embarrassing and hugely messy for the DUP, albeit not to the extent that it would take a serious electoral hit if Karen Bradley decided to call an election anytime soon.

Worse, it seems to be a mess of their own making. They knew that Sinn Féin would not shift on an Irish Language Act, yet they continued to talk to them and - unless they can produce conclusive proof to the contrary - certainly seem to have given the very clear impression that they were up for the sort of deal set out in the draft document.

At this point the ball is in the DUP's court. They have to decide if they can reboot a talks process based on an Irish Language Act; whether they can sell that decision to the DUP and wider unionism; and, most important, whether devolution is preferable to a long period of Westminster, probably with Dublin input, governing Northern Ireland.