THE way things stand right now, who would be surprised if next May’s Assembly election was held against the background of both the DUP and Sinn Féin having already withdrawn from the Executive and confirming that they will not reboot the institutions post-election until a series of demands has been met?

Both parties are worried by LucidTalk polling evidence which suggests that their electoral bases are increasingly reluctant to try to breathe life into a relationship now as cold, bizarre and loveless as that of Oedipus and Jocasta.

Sinn Féin has been dropping hints for some time that it believes the DUP has no purpose higher than that of blocking anything to do with Irish language, culture, schools, street signage and reunification.

The DUP, on the other hand, believes that Sinn Féin is deliberately focussing on a republican-only agenda as the touchstone of its relentless determination to persuade the British and Irish governments to agree to a border poll.

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It’s a perfect example of the Newtonian – each action of one main party results in an equal and opposite reaction from the other – approach to politics here; an approach........

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