Under the current arrangements, if three Alliance MLAs designated "Nationalist" and the rest "Unionist", the party would actually hold the balance of power "in both designations". That would mean, effectively, that where the parties within each camp were split (e.g. SDLP v. SF or UU v. DUP), Alliance would decide. We would, in effect, become the most relevant party in the Assembly - *because of the designation system*.
28 October 2006
Hollowing out the designation system?
Ian Parsley argues that one way Alliance could prove its cross community credentials by allowing its MLAs to register "a designation of identity" - as Unionist or Nationalist, as they see fit. He argues that:
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5 comments:
It's hard to see how they could allign themselves as nationalists.
Very easy - tick the box that says "nationalist". According to the GFA, that's all you have to do. Stupid isn't it ?
They are unionists through and through as long as they support the status quo.
Pretty much everyone is unionist these days, including SF. The IRA in it's current guise was founded to end the Stormont government - and here are SF waving it back in.
St Andrews amends the designations to remove this from them unless they all go and join other parties. Quite good really, removes the right from them to be more of a distraction than they already are.
ah yes, the old Alliance being whatever it takes to hold the balance of power argument- as in Belfast City Hall. Yeah, it's politics, but it sucks. You lose even the pretence of acting on principle, and come across as superior mortals deigning to condescend to administer your wisdom to the tribal pygmies. Ideal material for another round of quangos then. Hurrah!! G&Ts all round!!
Um - it's the Shinners and DUP who get all the seats on quangoes these days, and since Belfast City Hall went into balance, it's changes from a public embarassment into a place that quietly gets on with the business of providing decent public services in Belfast.
I think Alliance have earned that G'n'T.
Possibly stupid question, but could the DUP designate some of its MLAs as Nationalist?
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