More political therapy sessions for the ‘folks on the hill’ ahead…

One of the stand out quotes in tonight’s BBC documentary is that conceit from Jonathan Powell to the effect that…

The thing about extremes is that it is very difficult to be extreme when you are worrying about water rates than when you are waving a gun.

And yet, sixteen years on from the Belfast Agreement, you might hardly know we even had a government. From an Agriculture Minister who reputedly has difficulty telling a charolais from a friesian, to a former Culture Minister (more lately at Health) who in the past had difficulty distinguishing between personal conviction and the scientific method when conducting the interests of the public.

Government seems as remote now as when the ink dried at Castle Buildings all those years ago.

Now it seems, according to PA, our folk on the hill are to get yet another free round at the political therapists…

Fresh talks to break the deadlock in the Northern Ireland peace process are to be held, the British and Irish governments have signalled.

Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Northern Ireland secretary of state Theresa Villiers said a new round of cross party negotiations are to be convened.

All of which prompted Alex Kane to make this remark…

That’s what the turnout figures are saying, first unionist and latterly nationalist.

We are reader supported. Donate to keep Slugger lit!

For over 20 years, Slugger has been an independent place for debate and new ideas. We have published over 40,000 posts and over one and a half million comments on the site. Each month we have over 70,000 readers. All this we have accomplished with only volunteers we have never had any paid staff.

Slugger does not receive any funding, and we respect our readers, so we will never run intrusive ads or sponsored posts. Instead, we are reader-supported. Help us keep Slugger independent by becoming a friend of Slugger. While we run a tight ship and no one gets paid to write, we need money to help us cover our costs.

If you like what we do, we are asking you to consider giving a monthly donation of any amount, or you can give a one-off donation. Any amount is appreciated.