Carson demands clarity from DUP
Ulster Unionist Assembly candidate for Strangford, Angus Carson, has demanded clarity from his DUP opponents on what is meant by testing Sinn Fein’s commitment to supporting the police over a “credible period of time”.
Mr Carson, an Ards Councillor, said:
“The DUP says that it will not enter into government with Sinn Fein until it has tested Sinn Fein’s commitment to supporting the rule of law over what it terms a “credible” period of time.
On the one hand there are very senior DUP figures saying that ‘credible period of time’ means Sinn Fein won’t be admitted to government for what they term a “political generation” whilst on the other hand the DUP has indicated a willingness to enter into coalition government with Sinn Fein after the March election.
The electorate demands the DUP spell out exactly what it means by ‘credible period of time’. Does it mean it will be years before the DUP ‘gets into bed’ with Sinn Fein, in which case the government will have abandoned its whole devolution idea and moved to its plan B, will or does it mean the DUP is going to ‘get under the duvet’ as soon as the election is over – in which case the DUP’s ‘credible period of time’ will have amounted to about three weeks.
At the moment the DUP is playing the game of ‘wait and see’ on the issue of when it will enter government with Sinn Fein – something which the electorate will remember not so long ago the DUP said in an election manifesto was “out of the question”.
The DUP must do the decent thing and tell the electorate what it means before the people vote. The DUP’s present stance of ‘We’ll tell you what we’re going to do after you’ve voted” is not only unacceptable but is an insult to the voter. The Strangford electorate demands that Iris Robinson and company tell us what they mean”