decision shyness and relatively little achievement

The BBC’s Mark Devenport notes a distinct failure to communicate between the government and the polictical parties, with “More than one politician expressed the view that they didn’t know what the talks [last Thursday] were meant to be about.” and, as a member of “a waiting press pack which consisted of me[Mark Devenport] and one colleague” he suggests “Whether anyone outside the dwindling press pack and the politicians themselves cares about the quest to restore Stormont is a moot point.” He does though provide an interesting quote from a Bank of Ireland newsletter –

But a recent newsletter from the Bank of Ireland argued that there is “precious little evidence to suggest that the form of governance makes an iota of difference to the growth performance of the economy”.

The bank says: “It is interesting to observe the vociferous political lobby for an early return (of Stormont).

“In business circles generally, it is difficult to detect the same clamour, a view borne out of the 1998-2002 experience of devolution marked by decision shyness and relatively little achievement on economic policy.”

Pete Baker