David McNarry: Unionists asleep at wheel as Sinn Fein gets away with power grab

(The article can be read here: ‘If Sinn Fein is allowed to do its own thing in office, then mandatory coalition can never work,’ April 4).

Sinn Fein is getting away with a power grab using the opportunity of the Covid-19 crisis to assert its control over a weak executive, with unionists caught sleeping at the wheel.

A five party coalition divvying up the spoils and snapping up all ministerial positions is not mandatory, it is greed.

In rushing to take office they left the assembly without an official opposition.

Every administration requires an opposition to hold it to account – an impossible outcome where the overwhelming majority of MLAs represent executive parties.

In his critique Ben Lowry poses a moot question regarding Sinn Fein’s contribution to coalition government.

It being clear that their behaviour surrounding Covid-19 has shown that they are not to be trusted to act as team players.

An issue which must provoke unionists to decide how much longer they can be expected, despite the coronavirus challenge, to tolerate Sinn Fein as genuine partners in the executive.

It goes a lot deeper than that for unionism.

People want to see the joint unionist leaderships toughen up and assert themselves in restricting the perceived Sinn Fein dominance in the executive.

David McNarry, Ex UUP and Ukip MLA, Comber