Our gesture politics '“ on all sides '“ is meaningless

Recently Gerry Kelly met and shook hands with the Prince of Wales. It wasn’t an accidental encounter. And nor was it, as it was when Martina Anderson pushed herself into the secretary of state’s face at the recent Balmoral Show, just a piece of door-stepping for the cameras. It was a handshake agreed and engineered by both sides.

Meanwhile, Arlene Foster attended an event, organised by the Belfast Islamic Centre, to mark the official end of Ramadan: “I love Northern Ireland and I want everyone who calls this place ‘home’ to feel at home here. We should be inclusive and welcome all.” For good measure she also confirmed that she would be attending an LGBT event – the first DUP leader to do so.

The reaction from the general public and the media (as well as social media) was swift. They believed that the Royal handshake, the Eid al-Fitr event and the advance notice about Foster attending Pink News’s summer reception in Stormont later this week (“I value their contribution to Northern Ireland”), was all part of a stage-managed preparation for a new round of talks in late summer/early autumn. In other words, mere gestures.

I describe them as mere gestures because they are actually pointless: and everybody knows they are pointless. They are blood-out-of-stone events rather than spontaneous demonstrations of good will, respect and genuine progress. We’ve had quite a few of them since 1998 and they’re designed to convey the impression that Northern Ireland is changing and politics is becoming ‘normal’. But if gestures worked then the relationship between the DUP and Sinn Fein wouldn’t be the worst it has ever been; Martin McGuinness wouldn’t have written the letter that collapsed Stormont; Foster wouldn’t have referred to feeding a crocodile; the last round of talks wouldn’t have ended in such acrimony; and Peter Robinson wouldn’t have delivered what was, to all intents and purposes, a gesture lecture two weeks ago.

If gestures worked there would be a thriving new middle ground now (with new voices and vehicles), rather than the same-old, same-old we have had from Alliance for 40 years. If gestures worked Northern Ireland wouldn’t be more politically/electorally polarised today than it was before the Good Friday Agreement. If gestures worked the DUP and Sinn Fein wouldn’t be continuing to expand their base (they account for over two-thirds of the votes cast) by hardening their respective positions. If gestures worked they wouldn’t take so long to contrive and be greeted with such cynicism. Gestures don’t work because everybody, including those performing them, know that they are built on pretence and designed to distract from ongoing set-in-stone realities: the biggest reality being that unionists and republicans still don’t want to work together or govern together in common cause. No amount of handshakes, photo-opportunities, event management or glued-on smiles will change that reality.

The failure of gesture politics – a process intended to bring both sides together – can also be seen in the ‘outreach’ strategies adopted by both Sinn Fein and the DUP. They are separate strategies, rather than a joint strategy. Sinn Fein has been at it for a few years now and has even referred to some of it as ‘unionist outreach’. But they know that it is almost impossible for a republican – particularly a Sinn Fein republican – to convert a unionist; just as it is almost impossible for the DUP to convert a republican. So Sinn Fein’s message isn’t really directed at unionists in Northern Ireland. Rather, it is intended for the eyes and ears of the southern electorate. Sinn Fein is sending them a message that it is capable of broadening its appeal; capable of making a genuine effort to reach out to unionists and try and build a ‘new Ireland’ (even the use of ‘new’ is no more than a gesture) of equals. Put bluntly, the message is aimed at Fine Gael and Fianna Fail voters rather than unionists in Northern Ireland. Understandably so.

Last week Arlene Foster spoke to her own executive about wanting to be a leader who, “reaches out to promote the value – and values – of the Union. It is clearly in unionism’s interests for those from all backgrounds to feel comfortable in a Northern Ireland at peace with itself”. I agree. Indeed, as long-time readers will know, I have been saying the same thing for over a quarter-of-a-century.

But let me add this to Arlene’s pitch. At the very heart of the value and values of the Union is equality of citizenship. There is no point, for example, in her telling the LGBT community on Thursday evening (assuming she makes a speech, of course) that she values them and their contribution as citizens here, without making it clear that she will end the ban on marriage equality; a ban that prevents them from having the full benefits of UK citizenship. Equality of citizenship cannot stop as soon as you leave Great Britain.

The biggest single contribution Arlene and the DUP can make to the security of the Union is to ensure that Northern Ireland’s image and reputation as a ‘place apart’ is ended. Being seen as different is very damaging for unionism here and we must acknowledge the damage and address the problem. This will take more than words. More than mere gestures.