Election Day

The political junkies are in heaven today, with the election in Northern Ireland up and running. Perhaps walking, or even crawling, would be a better analogy, given the level of apathy amongst the voters. They've seen it too many times, heard too many promises, and lived through too many setbacks to get up off the chair and walk to the polling place.

Not many surprises are expected as far as the results are concerned. It looks to be the DUP and Sinn Fein taking the lead, with the smaller splinter groups not having much effect and the SDLP and Alliance parties scarcely heard above the noise. But once the election is over and the votes are counted, the fun will swing into high gear.

The Good Friday Agreement, the St. Andrews Agreement, are about to blossom...or die on the vine. The rhetoric of power sharing, and not sharing power, have filled in the time in the run-up to today's election. After Friday, when the tallies are tallied and the winners announced, all talk will turn to the next step, the one that leads to devolved government.

No one is questioning Sinn Fein's commitment to getting on with the process. All eyes and ears turn to the DUP, which is finally coming under some severe pressure after years of pressurizing the Shinners. Will the big man do it? Will he reverse himself after a lifetime of saying no and finally say yes?

Never never never would the DUPers go into government with the Shinners, or such was the rallying cry for more years than anyone cares to count. One by one, Gerry Adams and crew met the requirements presented for devolution, and now there are no hurdles to vault. All that is left is the weak protest, the complaint that the Shinners aren't there yet, they have to prove themselves, can't be trusted you see, it'll be next generation at the earliest.

On the last Monday in March, the DUP will have to make a move, now that they are painted into a corner. The rules and regulations that drop in from London, especially the decisions on where to set the water rates, have rankled the average Ulsterman, and even they are looking to some local politicians to take charge. Unfortunately, the system is now set up to put both the DUP and Sinn Fein, together, Home Rule at last, so where can the DUP go? Will they say no again, and risk the ire of the electorate? Will they say yes, and gain the financial benefits that England and Ireland are ready to shower upon them?

The election is today, but the real contest is just beginning.