After seems like months of trying to reel in an deal with his own internal party issues and behind the scenes meetings with the British and Irish governments and some of his pro-Agreement partners, David Trimble has finally launched his own attack on his main Unionist opponents, the DUP.
Yet because we are clearly in the endgame the DUP are desperately hoping that they can exploit the difficulties and pains of the transition in order to snatch the spoils of our successes,” he said. They no longer seek to destroy the Agreement. Given a fig leaf of a ‘re-negotiation’ they will cheerfully accept the places and power the Agreement gives to locally elected representatives.
“They say they want changes, but have produced no alternatives, no policies. They acknowledge that they will have to compromise, but give no hint of what they will give. “And in doing this they run the risk of giving republicans the chance to unpick a constitutional settlement that copper-bottoms the Union.”
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
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