Gerry came over to tell us:
“This is a crucially important election. It is about the future – the type of Ireland the electorate want. It is about the peace process and its success or failure. And it’s about leadership. I believe the way forward that I have mapped out provides a real opportunity to revive the peace process”.
From what Slugger has seen, this election has not been about any of the above, but more polishing off of rival parties by Sinn Fein and the DUP. His ‘initiative’ is summarised in three bullet points in a small ad in today’s Irish News:
– Break the downward spiral
– Remove unionist excuses for non-engagement
– Put the onus firmly on the two governments to move forward
And finally, “I’m asking you to endorse our work”.
What does it mean? Well that’s not clear. It appears to be something that’s complicit between Adams and his apparently growing electorate. Judging from the quiet atmosphere on both the Falls Road today and the Bogside yesterday, it means ‘volunteers’ will not be going back to war.
It implies that there may be more, but that’s not the point. He’s not asking his voters to back the party, so much as himself and his own judgement. And that’s asking for a lot of trust from a lot of people.
The question is, when will we see the Chief Exec take some executive decisions?
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