Oh god – for the past two days now, Gordon Brown has been residing in the castle of a village near to where I live. He has landed here in Northern Ireland to “help” the local political parties “save” the “power=sharing” Assembly. Good old Gordon – such a nice man.
The BBC narrative on what is happening here is framed in almost childish terms.
They would have you believe that the good and brave Gordon Brown (along with his Irish counterpart in unpopularity, the charming Mr Brian “BIFFO” Cowan) have come here to see if they can give encouragement to the local Northern Ireland parties as they seek to do “the deal” that will “save” all the good things that have been achieved here. The nation waits for white smoke to emerge from Hillsborough Castle.
OK – now back on planet earth and away from the spin of the BBC.
Brown and Cowan have come here to pressurise the spineless and now openly corrupted DUP into agreeing a date for devolving Policing and Justice powers into an administration that is inherently dysfunctional and which contains murderers, bombers, gunmen and bankrobbers. This is presented as “the last piece” of the devolution justice – in fact it is the last chance to save democracy by preventing the very thing that Brown and co are here to urge on.
Now I appreciate that the view I have expressed is just one view – but it is one that the BBC seems oddly reluctant to air. Why?