Can a former politician do a deal where a human rights professor couldn’t? Clearly the DUP is not impressed with the appointment of Monica McWilliams. There may be some heat left over from past encounters. And Ian Paisley’s words have a fairly final ring to them: “The government must now remember that the unionists will have nothing to do with their commission. They will not take any part as long as they have a chairman, or chairlady, who cannot be trusted by both sides.”Today’s Irish News editorial notes:
The fact that Dr McWilliams represented the Women’s Coalition in the first Northern Ireland Assembly seems to have particularly incensed the DUP, but she was plainly as entitled as any other citizen to seek election to sit on any of our new devolved structures. Dr McWilliams has now moved on to a new role and she should be judged on her performance in that capacity in the years ahead.
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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