Speed Dating in Armagh
As I was leaving the SDLP conference in Armagh today I bumped into a senior party figure. 鈥淪o now we have three suitors鈥 he quipped. Certainly the speeches from Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail sounded less like fraternal greetings and more like an exercise in speed dating.
But where in this frantic courtship, I enquired, were the Ulster Unionists? After all, their visiting MLAs John McAllister and Basil McCrea had been warmly received, and Basil鈥檚 contribution earned him a standing ovation. I suppose that was the SDLP鈥檚 way of returning the many compliments Margaret Ritchie had received at the UUP conference the previous weekend. So are the UUP the SDLP鈥檚 Executive 鈥渂it on the side鈥?
鈥淚 think they can be our agony aunt鈥 my SDLP friend suggested.
Although every one understands a dating game, the SDLP and Fianna Fail鈥檚 talk of 鈥渞ealignment鈥 is still rather opaque. What is the new SDLP working group on all Ireland politics going to explore? Is it a potential marriage with Fianna Fail, and if not what does 鈥渞ealignment鈥 mean? There remain divided opinions within the SDLP about the wisdom of any merger, although the enthusiastic rural representatives from border areas seem to outnumber their less convinced Belfast colleagues.
One insider suggested to me the possibility of a joint SDLP Fianna Fail candidacy in the European elections in 2009. The benefit would be that the parties wouldn鈥檛 have to resolve their differences over Westminster abstentionism. Moreover the SDLP, having lost John Hume鈥檚 place in Europe, have nothing to lose. Neither party would lose any sleep about giving Sinn Fein鈥檚 Mary Lou McDonald and Bairbre De Brun a hard time.
However when I tried that one out on Dermot Ahern he told me I was getting well ahead of myself. But then as Mandy Rice Davis put it 鈥渉e would say that, wouldn鈥檛 he?鈥 And she was someone who knew a thing or two about hopping into bed with a new partner.
P.S. One sign that not everything may go smoothly with Fianna Fail鈥檚 move north came when the party鈥檚 youth wing failed to arrive on schedule at the SDLP conference. The rumour is that, enroute to Armagh, they got lost.
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also seemed to be a bit of picking and choosing of civil society partners... some deliberately left in the shade in this better new ireland?
And was the leaders speech better for its after dinner humour - but still light on substance?