He said: “We know from hard and bitter experience not to look to Twelfth speeches for imaginative leadership or breadth of vision. But even by this sorry standard, Paisley’s megaphone diplomacy is deeply damaging to the interests of all in the north.
“The DUP needs to let us all know exactly what it is about in the Preparation for Government Committee or the Assembly. It is bad enough to have to cope with a growing list of preconditions for moving forward, but at least they are based on some sort of concept of eventual progress. This rant by Paisley – and there is no other name for it – is the politics of the roadblock once again. Phrases like ‘over our dead bodies’ simply set everyone back, including the elements in the DUP that are plainly keen to see devolved government within some sort of reasonable timetable. It is ultimately for the electorate and not Ian Paisley to decide who is fit for government.
“Let us hope that when the Twelfth is
behind us once more, when the annual rush of blood to the head has worn off,
wiser counsels will prevail once more in the DUP.”