Years ago, long before Slugger, I remember getting to certain points in the political cycle where there seemed no point in following a given story for a few months until something concrete emerged. Long time lapses are a regular feature of Peace Processing™. So I thought I’d been in hibernation too long on Politicking Policing and Justice issue this morning when I heard on the early segment of the BBC’s Today Programme that a breakthrough when they reported talks were on the cusp of a breakthrough on P&J… In fact Martin McGuinness’ words were much more circumscribed… They are, in fact, ‘”on the cusp of agreement” over the financial package’. That’s good news for whoever takes on Polcing and Justice (and Sammy Wilson, who despite the jokes at his expense, has been making some progress in filling in that £600 mill hole), and perhaps it will now focus all parties on the outstanding issue (and highly moveable feast) of community confidence… But contrary to the BBC’s messaging, this thing could run and run… Or rather walk and walk…
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