Stimulating views from Ian Paisley
THE latest comments by Ian Paisley on the future of Northern Ireland make fascinating reading.
Lord Bannside has weighed into the News Letter Union 2021 debate with views that will certainly stimulate further discussion.
The former DUP leader and first minister has not pulled his punches.
He has said clearly that one big unionist party is a non-runner, although a unified sense of loyalty to the throne and to the constitution ought to be top of the agenda with each of the devolved institutions.
That sentiment will annoy the people within unionism who believe some form of unity is needed and at the same time it is unlikely to find any favour with nationalists who are decidedly uneasy with the British links.
And Lord Bannside seems to accept that, if there is a Sinn Fein first minister, it will be the will of the people, although his comment "Sinn Fein did not become the majority party on my watch" seems a thinly disguised criticism of the people who now run the party he once led.
Lord Bannside also expresses the hope that, by 2021, the Republic of Ireland will have re-joined the Commonwealth.
It does seem a fairly unlikely aspiration, but then the idea of Ian Paisley sharing power with Sinn Fein in a Northern Ireland assembly was once a very distant prospect as well.
Throughout his political career, Lord Bannside has never been frightened to express strong views in a forthright manner.
He has certainly lived up to his reputation and it will be illuminating to see what other politicians make of his latest position.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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