It’s been my view for some time that Northern Irish politicians take way to much comfort/discomfort from the fortunes/misfortunes of their opponents and spend too little time forward investing in their own projects. Patrick Murphy suggests nationalist conceit over the deadlock within Unionism, will also deadlock further progress towards nationalist goals:
Isolating unionists from a significant part of their cultural heritage has left SF/SDLP feeling pretty smug. But the more they isolate it, the more resistant unionism becomes to change and the more the nationalist dream of Irish unity recedes. The unionist fossil is not the only one in the Irish bedrock.
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