Hi everyone,
It’s been an interesting few weeks.
The Tories clinging to power in Britain by flirting with the DUP, flashing the cash, paying for the goodies and swishing their conservative skirts brings to mind a political lap dancing image which I’d rather not conjure up.
The title of this blog is a reference to the Belfast Telegraph sub editors who seem incapable of any other adjectives regarding unionist reaction to, well, just about anything. I could have added a few more words such as defensive, defiant, aggressive and denial.
We have had to endure the unedifying spectacle of certain elected politicians treading one of three well trodden paths and combination of all of them.
- Attempting to Justify the behaviours and consequences of those behaviours, of the crazier elements of their support
- Deflecting in every direction possible rather than addressing the actual issues
- Disappearing from sight and sound entirely
This amounts to a single thing.
A dereliction of leadership.
If I may spell it out, never has the PUL community been more in need of clear, focussed, leadership than now.
Without that, unionism cedes ground to the lunatic fringe that we saw on display in Windsor Park last night with their songbook in full voice and their unrestrained, instinctive, visceral, hatred, on display to a wider audience.
Wider Unionism has not yet realised that they are now a minority in the North East of Ireland. Their politicians know it. Everyone else knows it, Horseman knew it some years ago, most educated unionist voters know it. Someone needs to tell their 1690 facing followers.
As long as political unionism refuses to lead their voters, the only movement they will experience is backwards. That is a tragedy for their poorest and most disenfranchised voters.
As for the the Belfast Telegraph headline writers? Shame on you.
I hope, for the sake of unionism, that change will happen soon.
