Now the last remaining SF red lines must go

How very good of her.

Now she should make clear that the party has dropped all its red lines.

In a disgraceful sequence, that has been indulged by London and almost encouraged by Dublin, Sinn Fein has been allowed to bring politics in Northern Ireland to a halt.

Its rotating list of red lines has shifted — Mrs Foster standing aside, gay marriage, special funding for legacy inquests (which they know will play a central role in rewriting the narrative of the Troubles), an Irish language act.

No other party would be allowed to do this.

If the DUP had even tried, it would have been cited as the ultimate proof of unionist bigotry and the fact that you cannot do business with them.

But Sinn Fein have been allowed to do it, and not only that, they have been on their high horse. One minor glimmer of hope is that Ms McDonald has begun to pull the party away from its hypocritical triumphal tone.

London, terrified by the memory of IRA violence and cowed by Dublin’s demand for something akin to joint stewardship of Northern Ireland, has refused to introduce direct rule.

Civil servants as a result are, understandably, reluctant to make decisions that are the domain of ministers.

Meanwhile health and education are rudderless.

Not only would it be morally wrong to reward such Sinn Fein blackmail, it would be pragmatically disastrous, and ensure a future collapse of Stormont whenever republicans next decide to issue a set of demands.

The longer this saga has gone on, the more it has become apparent that any restoration of the devolved institutions must make it impossible for Sinn Fein ever to wreak such havoc again.