Quiet achievement of 'normal politics'

NORTHERN IRELAND:A year that started so dramatically with the lurid details of Iris Robinson's affair with a much younger man, has ended with the province inching ever further towards a normalised political life , writes Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor

VERY EARLY in January the Irish public was astounded by revelations about the personal and financial affairs of the family Robinson.

Journalists more used to writing about the latest political crisis afflicting Northern Ireland, found their work was straying into the sensational and lurid as details emerged about Iris Robinson’s affair with young Kirk McCambley – a relationship that began when she was 59 and he 19 – and how she persuaded two businessmen to bankroll his Lock Keeper’s Inn venture along the River Lagan to the tune of £50,000.

Iris suffered a devastating political and personal crash, to such an extent that she was shepherded to London for psychiatric treatment. For a period it appeared her husband’s political career would collapse with hers and that the domino unfolding of events would bring down the Northern Executive and Assembly.

It was a mesmerising melodrama that would have poleaxed most people. But Robinson stayed standing, and Iris is home now, keeping a very low profile, and still receiving counselling and care.

The First Minister asserted he was absolutely innocent of any transgressions in relation to land deals and no evidence has emerged of wrongdoing.

He also executed manoeuvres such as temporarily standing down as First Minister in favour of Arlene Foster, a key moment when opponents within the party had a chance to nail him. Off the record, some of those adversaries thought he was “toast” but none was prepared to publicly challenge him or say he must go.

His most daring move was to agree to the devolution of policing and justice powers to the Northern Executive – which Sinn Féin craved – a do-or-die decision that put it up to DUP rebels to stick with him, or revolt – and almost inevitably see the Assembly crash, and along with it their political careers. There was no mutiny.

The DUP, after much heart-searching, also decided that it was better to face into the Westminster election in May with Robinson remaining at the helm. It was the correct decision because the DUP won eight of its nine seats. The headline of the election, of course, was that normally hardline staunchly unionist East Belfast jettisoned Peter Robinson in favour of Naomi Long of Alliance – an incredible boost for Alliance which it hopes to exploit in the Assembly elections in May.

The reason the DUP won eight seats was because Robinson read it correctly, that Northern Ireland was inching away from its past, and wanted positive politics and devolution to work. He lost his seat because of “Irisgate” – a separate issue.

The year was dominated by the Robinsons but there was much else besides. Not all questions were answered but the Bloody Sunday report was a hugely liberating and cathartic moment for the Derry families, for the city, and for the country – a terrible black stain was wiped clean and innocence restored.

Dissident republicans maintained their efforts to rock politics. They murdered one of their own members, Kieran Doherty in Derry, and badly injured a GAA-playing, Irish-speaking Catholic PSNI officer, Peadar Heffron in Co Antrim. They also inflamed the four days of serious violence at Ardoyne in north Belfast over the Twelfth of July.

There were numerous other dissident bomb and gun attacks throughout the North. Security chiefs acknowledged they were growing in numbers and in capability, but pointed to some 250 arrests this year on both sides of the Border and some 90 people charged. They are not going away.

We had two new political leaders, Margaret Ritchie for the SDLP succeeding Mark Durkan, and Tom Elliott for the Ulster Unionist Party, both under pressure to keep their parties relevant.

Ritchie, against expectations, performed quite well in the Westminster election debates and the party held its three seats.

While Robinson was the most vulnerable Northern leader this year, it seemed incongruous that it should be the Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey who was forced to stand down because of the disastrous Westminster link-up with the British Conservatives through UCUNF (Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force). The once-proud UUP did not win a single seat.

His stolid successor, Tom Elliott, was on the back foot even before he won the leadership. He offended GAA supporters and moderate unionists, including former rugby international Trevor Ringland, by his failure to do the right thing and wish Down well in the all-Ireland final. He was another politician to annoy the gay lobby by perceived negative views on homosexuality.

The fact that he had to declare he was not a “dinosaur” in his first annual conference leader’s address just emphasised the ground he must retrieve.

Gerry Adams decided to head South leaving Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness as the main public face of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland. The party again has big hopes in the forthcoming general election and the Northern Assembly poll. In Northern Ireland the focus will be on whether Sinn Féin can top the DUP as the party with the most Assembly seats at Stormont – an outcome that would make McGuinness entitled to the First Minister post.

Early this year most would have said that Robinson would be too politically and personally beaten and battered to be up for such a challenge. But far from it. He returned from his summer holiday game and girded for what lies ahead. He had a virtually triumphant party conference earlier this month, and he and McGuinness illustrated that Northern Ireland is genuinely stabilising by agreeing a draft budget for the next four years – albeit one that involves £4 billion in cutbacks.

So, here we are a year later and the view from Parliament Buildings, Stormont, looks a lot healthier than the perspective from Leinster House. The odds are that this third Belfast Agreement consecutive Northern Assembly will be the first to see out its full term without suspension.

That’s normal politics, which doesn’t make for dramatic headlines compared to the banner front pages we had at the beginning of the year. But a quietly remarkable achievement nonetheless.