AFTER months of driving full-tilt into a Brexit cul-de-sac of their own making, there are small signs that Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and the DUP have at last paused and found reverse gear. Now they need to engage it, return to the political mainstream and set course for Stormont and the return of power-sharing.
That, at least, is a positive interpretation to be gleaned from the DUP's meeting in Lurgan on Thursday. Perhaps we are being overly optimistic. The DUP has an endless capacity to take wrong turns and give the impression that unelected fringe elements are, if not in the driving seat, then acting as navigators.
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Sir Jeffrey emerged into the darkness of the Co Armagh night to talk to reporters; with the looming hulk of the Orange Order's Brownlow House silhouetted behind him, there was something rather Hammer house of horror about a setting that was more gothic than it was forward-looking.
Nonetheless, Sir Jeffrey didn't dismiss hopes that the institutions could be back by Christmas and spoke of how it "would be great to see an outcome that works for Northern Ireland".
There will inevitably be strong suspicions that the DUP's view of 'what works' will not necessarily be the same as anyone else's. It is also right to be wary about any private talks involving the British government and a local party.
However, it is also important that the DUP's petulant boycott finally ends. The mandate of the last assembly election must be respected – with Sinn Féin holding the role of first minister – and the assembly restored. Experience of its dysfunction tells us that Stormont is far from a panacea, but it ought to be better than the capriciousness which characterises so much of the Conservative party's approach to Northern Ireland.
Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, voiced cautious optimism about the prospects of Stormont's return after a meeting with prime minister Rishi Sunak, speaking of a "window of opportunity" opening over the coming weeks.
Beyond that near-future lies the question of Irish unity. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who is likely to form the next British government, has said a border poll is "not even on the horizon".
That may be the case. No-one sensible is calling for a border poll to be held immediately. Much debate and planning must lie ahead. But it should also be acknowledged that political horizons have a habit of shifting.
