And goodbye to all that…?

SF worker linked to fatal Quinn beating

Republicans not involved: Murphy

They can’t both be true. The DUP have spelled out what it will do if it’s the former. [BTW - the Justice for Paul Quinn website can be found here.]

Can’t think of a worse headline for OFMDFM as Ian and Martin head home from the Big Gig (where the stenographer clearly had trouble with Paisley's 'inaudible' brogue).

Unionists will demand SF are kicked out of government and possibly off the Policing Board. SF will argue that collective retribution against a party that has publicly backed the police and condemned the murder is utterly unjust. [While also undoubtedly arguing that Jim Cusack and unnamed securocrat sources are biased against the peace process.]

Even at best, this undoes a lot of what the investment trip to the States was trying to achieve. If the Indo story is proven in the courts it’s hard to see how a mandatory coalition government can survive the ensuing chaos.

A normal voluntary structure is more robust than what we have at present. It could survive chaos of the magnitude implied by the Indo story.

DUP & SF, and UUP & SDLP are showing sufficient pragmatism to evolve their own voluntary partnerships. They’ve outgrown the mandatory framework.

Whether there’s enough evidentially in the Indo story remains to be seen. But stories like this can be seen as the tipping argument for voluntary coalition government. As it would be better to have government stability guaranteed and not subject to even low-grade, grasping, speculative pieces based on anonymous sources and headline friendly supposition. (Jim’s piece emphatically is not in this category – which makes it political napalm.)

If we’re serious about attracting and retaining FDI, and interest from the States in particular, then exploring the potential for voluntary coalition is a perfectly reasonable conversation to have. [And removing mandatory coalition would pretty much remove the raison d’etre for TUV. It could be the shortest-lived political movement since Respect.]