Recent events have understandably undermined public confidence in the political process in Northern Ireland.
The current logjam is a direct result of both the British and Irish governments' policy of indulging the DUP and Sinn Féin to the exclusion of all others. Both governments bear a heavy responsibility for undermining the democratic mandate of the majority of all Irish citizens.
The DUP and Sinn Féin have only served to further polarise the entire community.
Neither of these two parties has been genuine in their approach to the political process and both have in fact held back the chance of real political development.
The British government in particular has adopted a position which seems to say that no progress can be made until Gerry Adams and the leadership of the Provisional movement can bring into line their criminal members and until the secular wing of the DUP sees off the fanatical bigots of its righteous brethren who are as entrenched in their sectarianism today as they were in 1974. If this is the sum total of the Downing Street plans for Northern Ireland we will wait a long time for movement.
Criminality has always been an integral feature of paramilitarism. In some cases, and usually within loyalism, it was quite an overt feature. The republican version of criminality was always more akin to the Cosa Nostra. Either way its shadow left victims in its wake.
The DUP has always had some sort of relationship with loyalist paramilitaries, as many of their number have verified. Attempts to present the DUP as a law and order party which is above such nasty indiscretions simply lack credibility.
More worryingly, as the north becomes more pluralist in terms of its ethnic make up, the DUP has yet to face up to the inherent sectarian and at times racist comments from some of its spokespeople. Hardly confidence inspiring when some of its leadership could end up with responsibility for education or equality departments.
At the same Sinn Féin has enjoyed the limelight and the courting of both governments for too long, without having to face up to any of its own demons.
Today, those demons have a name and a nasty personality – the IRA.
The world since September 11 has changed and no longer are the vast majority of people prepared to tolerate the dual identity of a freedom fighter and a terrorist.
Sinn Féin has enjoyed playing the victim card whenever they can but, as we have recently witnessed when some of the victims from within the republican community exercise that same card, then things start to unravel for the Provisionals.
Amidst all of this, we in the SDLP continue to work for a real unity of purpose.
We are still formulating policies and proposals that can move us out of the current political malaise. With the onslaught of a raft of legislation from Westminster to which we are opposed – including new excessive anti-terrorism laws, so-called top-up fees and other measures – the need for a local administration has never been clearer, while the prospects for a return to devolution have never been more distant.
The SDLP has already tabled proposals for both governments to consider which could see a return of some form of devolution within the framework of an agreed Ireland.
Our position is clear. We could and should move on. We could and should move on in a way based on the advancement of the principles of the Good Friday Agreement and on our own terms and not those dictated to us by others.
These principles now form part of the Irish constitution and are the only bedrock on which an Ireland built on consent can ever truly be at peace. We are as committed to the principle of consent as strongly as others still remain committed to coercion.
Despite the wishful thinking of some, the role of the Irish government in the affairs of Northern Ireland is permanent and irrevocable. There is nothing threatening in that involvement which undermines the need for consent from the unionist community.
But in the absence of a local administration it now needs some form of structure to allow the British and Irish ministers to live up to and implement the principles of the Good Friday Agreement and up hold the aspirations of the vast majority of people on both sides of the island.
We have reached a stalemate and it is imperative that the people we represent do not lose out because of a lack of democratic accountability.
The British and Irish governments should without delay enhance the role of the North-South Ministerial Council. The two governments could outline further areas of north-south cooperation and create additional implementation bodies to oversee closer integration of matters of national interest to people on both parts of Ireland.
Fora could be set up to facilitate locally-elected representatives from both sides of the border to question those tasked with responsibility for the implementation bodies, whether they are Irish or British ministers.
Inclusiveness is still paramount for the SDLP. Those, who through their continued relationship with paramilitary or criminal groups and who fail to cooperate with the new structures of policing and justice, exclude themselves from playing a meaningful role in the creation of an agreed Ireland.
Similarly, those who wish to opt out of or change the all-Ireland institutions as agreed by the two governments cannot be allowed to participate in a semi detached way in any new northern executive.
The weakness of the last executive was its inability to build cohesion and collegiality. The reality of the situation we find ourselves is such that all aspects of self governance for the north come as a package – the all-Ireland dimension, support for policing, and collective responsibility for executive decisions.
There can be no opting-out clauses next time around.
