“I have always made one prayer to God, a very short one;” O God, make our enemies ridiculous!” And God granted it

If any political opponents of Unionism have been offering a similar prayer to that of Voltaire, it is being answered as the DUP now exhibits all the traits of political disarray leading to despair, criticism and doubt amongst the support base internally and externally.

With the DUP holding itself up to ridicule, some are already suggesting that the party is a ‘busted flush’ and will not ascend to the heights of past electoral success.

With an Assembly election due next year and possibly earlier, time and the electorate will tell.

The new leader would surely not choose to start from here but circumstances leave him with no other choice. He must feel that in wanting to move forward all the gears of the vehicle only drive in reverse with the handbrake on, just in case.

The DUP has always been thus.

There have been mutterings and briefings for months that, for a variety of reasons, unrest with the leadership of First Minister Arlene Foster MLA was growing. Had it not been for the Covid-19 pandemic the move which has led to her removal as Leader of the DUP could have come earlier.

Like her ill-advised stance on RHI when she reportedly ignored the advice of close advisers to stand aside for a number of weeks as her predecessor had done during his own ‘local difficulties’, she appears to be clinging on to office and still therefore representing the party of which she has been removed as leader; a party over which she has presided but which she describes as nasty and has said she will leave.

The logic is not easily grasped.

Some years ago, a former leading UUP MLA who, disillusioned by the party, talked of leaving, yet when called to appear before a Disciplinary Committee fought the charge which would have led to his expulsion.

It was said of his actions that he was ‘fighting harder to remain than leave.’ The First Minister is now presenting as something similar. Is this the best example of grace and dignity the electorate has the right to expect from someone in that position?

The Office is not a personal or party trinket.

Whatever the personal feelings of anger, hurt, rejection and regret over flawed leadership and decision-making, the party has made its choice clear and is it not now appropriate to stand aside and allow the new leader to assume his position and put his team in place?

What is the point of delaying the handover?

If she does not move soon, Edwin Poots MLA, as new leader will not have long to warm the seat for Ian Paisley Junior MP if, as is rumoured, he is desirous of inheriting the leadership of his father’s party.

That should cause a few ‘chuckles’ in the Paisley household.

The First Minister will know her own motives best but comments over ‘the letter’ from MLAs, an Irish-Language Act, the authority of the Office in the current circumstances and what has the appearance of ‘who blinks first ‘over the position of First Minister has all of the elements of a ‘scorched earth’ and vengeful approach to whoever follows.

If this is not the case it is to be welcomed but does not detract from the fact that whilst the situation pertains, government is in limbo and uncertainty results.

The electorate is entitled to and deserves better.

Much could happen over the next few weeks; best get on with it.

Once the First Minister leaves office there could be changes in both positions in the Executive Office with the name of John O’Dowd re-surfacing as possible Deputy First Minister. The crisis on health needs a committed and joined-up approach as does planning for economic recovery and if there is a stand-off over the provisions for the Gaelic Language under New Decade, New Approach, there may be an early election.

Neither of the bigger parties may wish for this at the present time so it would be surprising if talks are not already ongoing between the Poot’s team and Sinn Fein.

They may be more wired for finely tuned political collusion and fuzzy ethical leadership than is apparent or transmitted publicly.

Both parties are always happy to exploit the formlessness of the political process and hold on to power without any blueprint for a stable and prosperous future other than their own fictional accounts of reality which are deployed to legitimize crises and the democratic deficit.

The transition could be smoother than anticipated but with vague comments relating to difficulties during the marching season over the NI Protocol, prolonged uncertainty does everyone a disservice.

A dignified departure by the First Minister will produce the necessary movement and reduce the pantomime nature of the DUP’s handling of change, not least the ratification meeting in South  Belfast and the back-seat driving of past leaders through the columns of newspapers.

The electorate can then look forward to an election and an opportunity to vote for more of the same tribal group conflict or the issue-centred politics of a modern democracy.

The UUP, under its new leader may, by that time, have completed its transition into an ‘NI21 for Slow Learners’ party.

In the meantime, when she eventually does vacate office, Arlene Foster MLA, who has said she hopes to be back in Downing Street in some capacity, so presumably is not leaving the political scene, may wish to leave a plaque with some further words from Voltaire for her predecessor to display on his or her desk:

“May God defend me from my friends; I can defend myself from my enemies.”

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