Most unionists see it as thugs attacking police
Posted By: April 02, 2016
How Unionist leaders deal with Protestant violence—a historic, consistent double standard.
Newton Emerson. Irish News (Belfast). Saturday, April 2, 2016
Every unionist leader must deal with the clash between loyalist street politics and the rule of law – and thanks to the marching season, they can count on having to deal with it annually. Peter Robinson, who never cared much for the “loyal orders,” was adept at kicking this can down the road.
His protégé Arlene Foster may hope to do the same. However, that. in turn, would clash with her carefully crafted image as an RUC man’s daughter. All these contradictions came into play this week at a parading dispute on Belfast’s Ormeau Road.
Foster addressed them by giving bandsmen and the police an apparently equal hearing, which is not without electoral cost, if it was an electoral calculation.
Most loyalists see the Ormeau incident as police attacking children but most unionists will just see thugs attacking the police, on the road and then online.
In any case, far more clear-cut clashes are coming. Will the new first minister have to pick sides? After reaction to the Ormeau Road got out of hand, Arlene Foster gave a BBC interview that seemed to soften her earlier stance. Taking an initial hardline position then moderating it was what she did over marking the Easter Rising, so perhaps this indicates her leadership style. Interestingly, UUP leader Mike Nesbitt takes the same approach to encircling the DUP, which he explains by the rugby analogy of “going wide.” If Foster does likewise, they will circle each other indefinitely.
Newton Emerson. Irish News (Belfast). Saturday, April 2, 2016
Every unionist leader must deal with the clash between loyalist street politics and the rule of law – and thanks to the marching season, they can count on having to deal with it annually. Peter Robinson, who never cared much for the “loyal orders,” was adept at kicking this can down the road.
His protégé Arlene Foster may hope to do the same. However, that. in turn, would clash with her carefully crafted image as an RUC man’s daughter. All these contradictions came into play this week at a parading dispute on Belfast’s Ormeau Road.
Foster addressed them by giving bandsmen and the police an apparently equal hearing, which is not without electoral cost, if it was an electoral calculation.
Most loyalists see the Ormeau incident as police attacking children but most unionists will just see thugs attacking the police, on the road and then online.
In any case, far more clear-cut clashes are coming. Will the new first minister have to pick sides? After reaction to the Ormeau Road got out of hand, Arlene Foster gave a BBC interview that seemed to soften her earlier stance. Taking an initial hardline position then moderating it was what she did over marking the Easter Rising, so perhaps this indicates her leadership style. Interestingly, UUP leader Mike Nesbitt takes the same approach to encircling the DUP, which he explains by the rugby analogy of “going wide.” If Foster does likewise, they will circle each other indefinitely.
