Wednesday, February 20, 2008
No bright future for the Paisleys…
The first time I met Ian Paisley senior was at an official function at Hillsborough Castle, not long after the publication of our study on the future of Unionism, A Long Peace? After some warm-ish comments from him on the subject of the report, he turned to one of his younger party colleagues and warned him as I turned to go, “never trust the gentlemen of the press, there is always a sting in their tail”. It’s ironic that members of his party are now apparently bombarding the press with their own critical views of his son’s conduct of public business. And, as Pete spotted yesterday, there is a prima facie case for a complaint to be lodged with the Parliamentary Commission for Standards at the House of Commons. As I’ve argued over at the Guardian, it doesn’t look good for the Big Man of Ulster politics.
Mick Fealty @ 12:22 PM
Apart from Seymour Sweeney, that is…
Posted by on Feb 21, 2008 @ 11:01 AM@ Belfastpaul (number 21) Exactly right! a new party is needed...but not TUV..I think a left of centre party with a social justice priority.
I predicted that this would come within the first year and that Paisley would be sent to the glue factory, I figured junior would be shipped off to westminster or more likely brussels to be forgotten..but not hounded out altogether.
Ironically though this coup as Belfastpaul points out may lead to another, while Robinson is in for the long haul, not many of those around him will survive for too much longer. I think within the next couple of assemblies we will see far fewer old guards and the DUP clone machine will knock out far more Simon Hamiltons...other parties will follow a similar path.
Posted by on Feb 21, 2008 @ 03:01 PM
