All or nothing? Parties – and voters – must accept compromise
As Sinn Féin and DUP lurch towards a deal, there will be the usual hoo-ha about sell-outs and betrayals, but broken promises are sometimes needed for good government
Sinn Féin’s Northern Ireland leader Michelle O’Neill and Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams: ready to do a deal, but not met with enthusiasm by Arlene Foster and the DUP. Photograph: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images
We are living through a strange era when the ability of politicians to do what they have done since time immemorial – cut deals – is sometimes cast as their worst sin.