Joe Biden is proving to be a reliable President: Could he use his magic on the Protocol?

There he is, 80 years old, seemingly taking the lead in the defence of Ukraine whilst other world leaders mutter and mumble hoping they won’t have to raid their treasure chests for the job.

The President has shown a certain amount of favour towards us here as we fight the Protocol battle but it is nothing to what he faces in that corner of Europe where a former show biz funny man Volodymyr Zelensky struggles to keep at bay the Russian President whose avarice when it comes to personal glory knows no bounds.

President Biden’s surprise visit to the war zone that is Ukraine late last week must have been very comforting for the Ukrainians who didn’t deserve to be raided by a man who clearly thought he could fight one more battle for territory before retiring.

Clearly, Putin didn’t expect to have to fight for Ukraine. But there he is, evil personified, slowly being hated by his own people whom he had promised `a quick victory’. They must know that the might of America and other allies may well see their President disgraced and a generation of their young men left rotting in graves.

President Biden whom so many initially thought was a bit of a joke due to his age and who had seemed reluctant to visit Ukraine, declared during his visit that `we have to have security in Europe.

It’s that basic, that simple, that consequential’.

Those are simple words and I have heard similar about our own situation here when the IRA was running amok through our towns, cities and even our countryside. This year is the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement – not a perfect document – but one that drove a form of peace which we respect and hopefully can protect.

Long gone are the days when journalists like me in Belfast drove around streets and into country areas never certain we weren’t going to be a victim of the evil the terrorists unleashed. I had two young sons at home. I wanted to stay alive to see them grow up.

It took decades to bring our corner of Ireland to an acceptable peace. Foreign politicians didn’t fly into our airports with words of comfort or offers to help for our beleaguered province. They waited until it was safe to do so. Nonetheless we welcomed them and hoped they would keep their promises.

Will the Good Friday Agreement, produced in 1998 survive? It was a question we all asked ourselves then, still ask in fact. The current hiccups where we don’t have a sitting Assembly – it collapsed last year – are due to the Protocol business and I’ve heard it say that President Biden should be invited here to see if he can wave his magic wand. The suggestion was made in joke-form of course – the

Protocol is no laughing matter – but perhaps he has done his bit by his moral support for Ukraine which probably needs it most just now.

Our NI of course is much happier than it was. This week Himself and I visited the Grand Opera House to see The Commitments a stunning show which had an audience packed to the rafters.

Other big shows are planned leading up to Christmas when the redoubtable May McFettridge will take over in the pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We have all shown our courage by supporting those who provide our entertainment. Right now I would say we must have the most glamorous Grand Opera House in the world. Well worth our collective support.