Photo courtesy Etrusia_UK at http://url.ie/10nr
STORMONT
FROM CHUCKLING TOWARDS WORKING DEMOCRACY?
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FIRST, A STORY...
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THE CHUCKLE BROTHERS
(FORMERLY KNOWN AS “THE TWO MONSTERS”)
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BROKERING POWER
Coalitions are tough
Mandatory coalitions
are tougher
With political enemies
tougher still
It concentrates minds
Still, discipline breaks
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TAMING THE COALITION
2 parties: OFMDFM
4 parties: Executive
Executive
7 parties: Legislative Assembly Committees
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POLITICAL FRUSTRATIONS
Compliance within a
forced coalition
Requires a common
programme
Collective
responsibility
Collective delivery
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TROUBLE ON THE HILL
Everyone agrees on
Water Charges
No one, but Ritchie,
agreed on CTI Funding
Chaos ensued
And a judicial review
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THOSE LOST150 DAYS?
OFMDFM deadlock:
Policing and justice
Selective education
Irish Language Act
But the mutual veto
wins in the end...
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HOLDING IT TOGETHER
The authority of the
‘House’
Independence of the
Speaker’s Office
Recognition of
protocols
Addressing Speaker,
rather than ‘Basil’
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SUCCESS OF COMMITTEES
Show of independence
Communitarian ethic
Strong ‘commitment’
Genuine openness to
new policy areas
With some exceptions
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TRANSFORMING CONFLICT
End to street politics?
Conflict in a human
space
Old discourses
increasingly irrelevant
Need to rise to new
ones: health; economy;
education
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CONCLUSIONS
St Andrews Agreement strengthened OFMDFM
With the means of holding Ministers to account
Toughened a well established ‘top down’ process
‘Government’ whipped Assembly almost irrelevant
This is an innately conservative settlement
With no room for radical departures
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NOT MUCH DONE
A LOT MORE TO DO...
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SOME OF OUR PARTNERS
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