The conclusion of the latest Devolution Monitoring report from Democratic Dialogue is there is little likelihood of an aggreement emerging in September and that a longer period of billateral rule will continue in the short to medium term, reports Noel MacAdam.
In other words not the joint sovereignty talked about by some nationalist commentators in the past, but a political stasis in which the two governments assume effective long term control of local policy decisions. Ironically, the report also notes more sanguine attitudes towards community relations in civic society.
Robin Wilson in his introduction to the report also notes a tightening of the fiscal screw from the UK Treasury, and a concern in Whitehall circles at a general lack of accountablity of local government administration in Northern Ireland (something which echoes a lot of scepticism on the ground in Northern Ireland viz a viz paid but non-working MLAs).
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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