Once a pessimist....
| 13:22 UK time, Friday, 20 July 2007
I was walking out of the 大象传媒 today when I met Barry White, the Belfast Telegraph columnist. The veteran journalist has chronicled both the Troubles and the peace process for many years. Such was his pessimism about the peace process ever working out that he was nicknamed, Barry Black. Indeed, he was affectionately described as "the man who turned the light out at the end of the tunnel."
But with Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness now getting along famously in a power-sharing Executive, and decommiissioning and policing now addressed, I said hello - and teased him with the words: "Well, the peace process is finally working out...."
"We'll see," he said. "Give it another six months."
Some things never change....
I'm 
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To paraphrase a former world leader:
To the question: "Is the peace process working out?" surely it's not unacceptable to answer (or think): "It's too early to say"
After all, Barry, as you remark, has been chronicling things for 30 years; so he's a cautious fellow; and takes the long view of history.
Discuss
Martina
IT鈥橲 THE F-WORD WOT DONE IT!
I think Barry White鈥檚 view of the Peace Process could be more accurately described as scepticism rather than pessimism. Basically he is suspending judgement because he has doubts that the Stormont Luv-in is the The Real McCoy. For me, it is no great surprise that the DUP and Sinn Fein appear to be 鈥済etting along famously鈥 at leadership level in the early stages of this charade. The media generally fail to acknowledge that, though these Parties may have divergent political destinations, they have much in common in terms of the authoritarian way in which they operate. By any definition the DUP and Sinn Fein are fascist in nature. Both are Parties that, inter alia:
路 acclaim the nation above the rights of the individual,
路 maintain strict Party control through centralised dictatorial leadership,
路 are preoccupied with victimhood,
路 repeatedly (over the years) instigated social, economic and political crises (suspended pro tem)
路 use internal cleansing to crush dissension and maintain the purity of the party.
For the time being, enforced coalition has made strange bedfellows (bedpersons in Martin鈥檚 case) but that is acceptable to both in the short-term because they claim, disingenuously, that the current arrangements are consistent with their end goals (United Ireland/British Rule). They have the main levers of power and at the same time can continue to marginalize the UUP and SDLP. Every photographic opportunity to display DUP/Sinn Fein togetherness will be grasped. We all know this is window-dressing. My guess is that the cracks in the Assembly edifice will begin to appear when the excuse of needing to carry out reviews of the previous administration鈥檚 policies can no longer be used to defer taking hard decisions (e.g. Water Rates, Household Rates, Academic Selection, Irish Language, Truth & Justice Process, Loyalist/republican Criminality, The Maze, Infrastructure and, not forgetting: 鈥淓vents, Dear Boy, Events鈥). Moreover, don鈥檛 dismiss the possibility that if either Party, particularly the DUP, glimpses a chance to be top dog without the pesky restrictions imposed by mandatory coalition it will be seized with relish. Then the balloon will definitely go up! Come to think of it, would their fascist leanings ever lead either Party to revert to type and launch a Night of the Long Knives?
Susie
Carryduff
Susie
I agree and would go further to say that if a poll was to be held under the terms of The Belfast Agreement, it would hinge upon how the middle-class Roman Catholics would vote. Everyone else is fairly predicable.