Conall points to Tom Kelly’s piece in yesterday’s Irish News, which focuses on what wasn’t said at that controversial breakfast on the Armagh/Louth border: the proverbial elephant in the room, i.e. a prospective unification of the two parties.
The disjoint between instincts of some SDLP apparatchiks and realpolitik on the ground among the wider nationalist community often means they are blinded to things like elephants in the room.
Of course, the presence of a hugely popular Taoiseach is a huge drawing power.
Mark Durkan, freed from the rigidity of Stormont protocol, was at ease on the national stage and spoke succinctly and impressively.
Not that any of this mattered as the room was lit with expectation because of the elephants was presence. Naturally, as taoiseach-elect Cowen says, our immediate concern is for political stability in the north – so nothing will happen quickly.
Indeed the Fianna Fail tent is perhaps wider and more inclusive than the SDLP offers.
But the chair of the Fianna Fail commission is foreign affairs minister Dermot Ahern who played a significant part in organising and hosting the wedding breakfast.
Both parties have yet to consummate and that’s not a given but now the elephant has showed up and it’s hard to ignore.
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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