Ian Paisley Jnr - sage, philosopher, hero...

There I am, chewing my morning falafel, sipping Arak and enjoying the latest edition of my super-soaraway Lebanese Daily Star when I spotted a write up on Ian Paisley Jnr at a peace-building workshop. Great!

Of course, within minutes I'd sprayed Arak all over my super-soaraway Lebanese Daily Star newspaper and choked on the falafel. Why? The following:

Speaking to workshop delegates, Paisley called for politicians to abandon overly ideological standpoints and embrace a pragmatic approach to bridging the gaps between each other's positions. "The absolute language of politics has to move into the reality of what we have to do. Holding to absolutes isn't always the best way to go into negotiations," he said.

Pragmatic approach; no ideological standpoints; bridging gaps; not holding to absolutes? My god, it's almost like he's describing the solution to a situation closer to home!

Needless to say, the Lebanese Daily Star is published 106 days after the last executive meeting was held here.

So to recap - on the weighty issue of animal welfare in circuses, the hard-working Michelle Gildernew (scroll down to Peter Weir's question) managed to meet with a number of key stakeholders, including those who have a specific interest in the welfare of circus animals; listen to their concerns at first hand; send her officials to meet other relevant stakeholders. (Someone call this woman into an executive meeting for chrissakes!) But OFMDFM can't manage to convene an executive meeting they both claim they want to have.

And while it's perfectly legitimate for OFMDFM to plan a meeting with Paddy Ashdown to discuss 'initial response to the interim consultative report by the Strategic Review of the Parades Commission', how on earth can there be no executive and not even a bilateral with the DETI Minister on the trifling matter of the global meltdown?

Ian Paisley Jnr is of course correct. As is Alex Attwood who opined on the need to 'sit down with people who it's very difficult to sit down with'. (Hmmm... Martin, Peter?)

And in a yet more estimable assessment, Mr Attwood considers that: 'If you leave the politics to the politicians we might not get it right.' (Hmmm..... provocative.)

How distance and separation adds such clarity and circumspection. Travel broadens the mind etc.

This delicious, bloody article should be passed around everyone who won (were temporarily loaned) the mandate to govern all too recently.

Now repeat after Ian: Pragmatic approach; no ideological standpoints; bridging gaps; not holding to absolutes.