Unless SF ditch their red lines, direct rule is the way forward

Occasionally the language from Leo Varadkar is conciliatory, as it was in Belfast 11 days ago when he retreated from talk of a border in the Irish Sea.

But he, like his foreign minister Simon Coveney, has swung back and forth on the issue. Now another member of Fine Gael, Noel Rock TD, is again talking about an Irish Sea border.

Fine Gael was historically less hostile to unionists than Fianna Fail. But we have to get used to the fact that both parties are gearing up for coalition with Sinn Fein. If it doesn’t happen at the next election, it will be the one after that – or after that.

There will be agitating from Dublin relentlessly in the years ahead. And it won’t just be about Brexit – the calls for a Pat Finucane public inquiry will recur, as will the cross-party demands for an Irish language act, which only 1% of people in Northern Ireland speak to a complex level.

The essential thing, and only possible response to agitating from Dublin in tandem with nationalists, is for all unionists to work together and to stay close to the Conservatives, and to try to stave off a Westminster election – until 2019 at least.

Sam McBride on Saturday examined the possibility that a Stormont poll might be the best way forward for the DUP. The temptation to finish off the UUP must be great. But this would be a foolish path to follow, given that Robin Swann – among others in his party – is talking sense about the fact that there is no need for an Irish language act (patently true) and that Brexit must not be used as a Trojan horse for Irish unity. On matters that count, the DUP should see him as an ally.

There is no point in another Stormont election if it leads to fresh stalemate. What it must not become is a guise for concessions to Sinn Fein. The campaign will have to be one in which parties make clear their stance on such concessions.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is to be applauded for saying an Irish Sea border could “unravel the entire peace process”.

Unless republicans ditch their red lines, direct rule seems the only viable way forward.