One of the instructive aspects of the recent documentary on David Trimble was the position of his former colleague Jeffrey Donaldson. In effect he said that the Belfast Agreement was a basically sound document so far as Unionists were concerned, except for three associated issues: the re-naming of the RUC; the release of paramilitary prisoners; and the issue of decommissioning. All of these are now (more or less) complete, Donaldson argues that his party simply needs time to ensure the IRA passes the criminality test. How long this particular piece of string is, remains to be seen.
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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