I am somewhat bewildered by Arlene Foster's decision today not to have an independent Environmental Protection Agency for Northern Ireland. It's up there with her decision to be 'minded' to support the Paisley's mucker in his plans to ruin the Giant's Causeway. She should form a club with Caitriona Ruane, the Education Minister, to put the mock back into 'demockracy'! It seems Ministers are much more concerned about their chances of winning Westminster seats than they are of making decisions that are in the interests of citizens.
The new dispensation is an increasingly poor iteration of democracy - with much dithering and little in the way of legislation, decisions or social progress. The unholy alliance of Sinn Fein and the DUP is an unhealthy mixture for a coalition government. Neither poses any threat to the other electorally (in the sense that neithers voters are going to vote for the other - though tribal maths is an issue in several constituencies), and there is no natural 'opposition' - a healthy irritant in so many democracies. The more 'moderate' Unionists and the SDLP seem to be fading away. Is this the time for new forms of politics? I've never been involved in Party politics here - no natural home for my left-of-centre non-tribal tendencies in spite of the way some in the Alliance Party would like me to see them. I am still not convinced that I want to join a party, but I am sure that we cannot create the kind of Northern Ireland we and our children deserve out of the current cadre of ex-warlords!
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