Robinson’s plan: fundamental flaws

I have been on the search for Frank Millar’s interview (subscription only) with Peter Robinson in last Wednesday’s Irish Times.

Although Millar is the London Editor of the Irish Times, he was for several years in the 80’s a leading member of the UUP. It’s clear that, at times, Robinson treats this as a conversation between two old political rivals, rather than between an ‘impartial’ journalist and a politician. This important piece is the first hint of a ‘plan B’. It may also presage the final leg of the DUP’s assent from fringe loyalist protest party to playing a key leadership role in mainstream politics.

Robinson starts with his objection to the current form of agreement:

The Belfast Agreement was fundamentally flawed. The core principle was that instead of confronting terrorism you actually elevated terrorists, gentrified their leaders, accommodated their wrongdoing and rewarded their evil. That’s the antithesis of the policy that I pursue. And having been an opponent of David Trimble on the Belfast Agreement, it would only be my enemies who would attempt to associate me with it.

Mick Fealty

Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty