Davey Adams was formerly a key member of the ill-fated UDP. For the last few years he has been a perceptive commentator on Northern Ireland politics, with regular contributions for Talk Back and an occasional column for the Irish Times. In his latest contribution, he pinpoints a dependency culture amongst Northern Ireland’s politicians, which he believes is delaying arrival of a resolution of the endgame.
By David Adams
Will Trimble, Adams, the two governments and their posse of international persuaders manage to pull it off?
Of course they will. As sure as night follows day, something will be cobbled together to move us a little further down the never-ending road that the Northern Ireland peace process has become.
But don�t rush to put the champagne on ice just yet, for it�s just as certain that another crisis will soon be conjured up to replace the current one. You see, in Northern Ireland we have become addicted to crises. Or, more accurately, we have become addicted to the attention and rewards they bring us.
Where once we were victims of our history, we are now slaves to our own celebrity. We are completely in thrall to our over-inflated sense of self-importance – and little wonder? After all, at the drop of a hat we can, and often do, command the undivided attention of two prime ministers – regardless of any other pressing business they might have. Whether they be prosecuting a war or laying a much-loved parent to rest, Northern Ireland unashamedly elbows its way to the top of their agenda.
During times of crisis, our political leaders are regularly comforted, and ever so gently cajoled, by late night telephone calls from the White House. How could we not succumb to self-importance when the most powerful man in the world takes such a personal interest in our affairs? Even Nelson Mandela, the nearest thing we have to a living saint, has on occasion lifted the phone to offer a quiet word of encouragement.
As for American presidential visits, they�re now so commonplace in Northern Ireland they barely raise a collective eyebrow never mind any sense of excited anticipation. Drawn from around the globe, experts on every subject under the sun hover like waiters in the background – constantly at our beck and call.
The huge economic spin-off from the peace process doesn�t exactly incline us towards a final resolution either.By 2006 the EU, over a twelve-year period, will have bankrolled peace building in Northern Ireland to the tune of �2.3 billion. (This money being unrelated to the already substantial amounts we receive as a region within the United Kingdom.)
During the past 10 years, North American investment has totalled over $4 billion while another �1 billion or so has come from various charitable organisations and philanthropic initiatives. The ongoing subvention from our own United Kingdom government is well nigh incalculable, but it certainly dwarfs all of the above.
Of course, no one except the cerebrally challenged crazies amongst us wants a full-blown return to the bad old days. But then, if truth were known, the rest of us aren�t exactly rushing towards a final resolution either. We�re quite content where we are, sitting between two polar positions: beyond conflict but far short of resolution. It�s from there that we continue to gain without any associated pain. The old maxim of there being no such thing as a free lunch doesn�t apply to us. Every day is a feast day in Northern Ireland � and someone else is always picking up the tab.
So how can our powerful benefactors and cheerleaders inject some genuine momentum into the peace process? Well for a start, they might try putting our conflict into some kind of perspective for us. They could point out, that in comparison to the violence and political and social upheaval being suffered by countless people in various other parts of the world, ours barely qualifies for minor-skirmish status. Central and northern Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, Eastern Europe and South America � to name but a few � provide plenty of examples.
They might also mention, that in tandem with the brutality of conflict, many of those same people are also struggling to cope with natural disasters such as earthquake, flood, famine or drought. And, most crucially and disgracefully of all, despite their ongoing plight none of these regions has ever received even a tiny fraction of the attention, encouragement and financial support that we now treat as our birthright.
The contrast between all of that and the �plight� of our own population of 1.6 million is stark. We have free education and healthcare and are a highly qualified and prosperous people. Our perfect climate ensures that food production isn�t a problem and that drought, pestilence, flood and famine are no more than half -remembered words from the Bible.
We also enjoy all of the benefits that come from being part of a liberal democracy. But still we cling stubbornly to the delusion that we are the most unfortunate and deserving people on the planet. We lay claim to massive economic and political support that could and should be directed elsewhere but steadfastly refuse to reciprocate by completing the journey that is laid out for us on our road map to peace.
Greedy, self-obsessed and attention seeking hardly begins to describe us.And, just like a spoilt child, while we are forever pandered to and over-indulged that�s exactly how we will remain � with someone else always picking up the tab.
First published in the Irish Times on Friday 26th September, 2003
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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