4 December 1997 Edition
A bit of David's mind
By Laurence McKeown
No one likes to see anyone squirm, well, not in front of cameras anyway. Which is why I felt deeply for David Andrews the other day. Seriously.
He was being quizzed on his remark about across border institutions and how he envisaged them as having government-like powers. This comment of course had outraged unionists and all we heard all weekend was how the talks process was in crisis.
Interviewed the following Monday David Andrews first of all said he had no intention of apologising for his remarks but then added that if he had the interview to do over again he would not have used the term `government-like'. Bad move David.
Really it would have been better all round if he had just admitted he had made a bit of a blunder. Not that republicans would regard anything he had said as being a blunder. In fact you would like to hear more words like that from the Dublin government. What made it all the worse watching him was that the previous day we had listened to David Trimble being interviewed on the issue and hearing how he was going to give ``Andrews'' ``a bit of my mind'' when he met him at Stormont the following day. Well bully for you David, but are you sure you've got enough to share around?
His comment provoked not one iota of a response from the interviewers of course. I tried to imagine Gerry Adams being asked about his impending trip to number 10 and him replying that he was going to give Tony Blair a ``bit of my mind'' because of remarks Blair had made in the past.
Just a few days before that I listened to one of those people who have a deep insight into the thinking of the UDA/UFF, not that it requires any depth of profundity for that. He was being asked about the incident on the Shankill Road when a bus driver was badly burned following an attack upon his bus during what appeared to be a period of unrest in the area following arrests. The spokesperson commented that after a seres of discussions with community leaders in the area he could now guarantee the safety of bus drivers in the area.
Not an eyebrow was raised at this remark. No reference to who was he to guarantee anyone's safety.
I thought back to the incidents in Lurgan and Armagh a couple of weeks previous when rioting had broken out following yet another arrest of Colin Duffy. The headlines the next day were about whether or not Sinn Féin should now be barred from the talks at Stormont. I believe that Mo Mowlam was even asked her opinion on the matter and questioned as to whether or not the Mitchell Principles had been breached.
So when I saw David Andrews squirm embarrassingly with the line of questioning I longed for him to speak out as forthrightly as the unionists and loyalists. I didn't want any ifs or buts, maybes or perhaps. I wanted him to say, ``Yes, that's exactly what I said. Why shouldn't I? I'm a minister in a government that according to the constitution says that Ireland is composed of 32 counties not 26. Why are you surprised at my comments? In fact, why are you asking me such ridiculous questions? If course I want institutions that are government-like, all-Ireland like. That's our objective, didn't you know that? And, by the way, when I'm up in the north eastern part of my country next week I'll be giving David Trimble and his like a bit of my mind so I will''.
Keep on dreaming.
No one likes to see anyone squirm, well, not in front of cameras anyway. Which is why I felt deeply for David Andrews the other day. Seriously.
He was being quizzed on his remark about across border institutions and how he envisaged them as having government-like powers. This comment of course had outraged unionists and all we heard all weekend was how the talks process was in crisis.
Interviewed the following Monday David Andrews first of all said he had no intention of apologising for his remarks but then added that if he had the interview to do over again he would not have used the term `government-like'. Bad move David.
Really it would have been better all round if he had just admitted he had made a bit of a blunder. Not that republicans would regard anything he had said as being a blunder. In fact you would like to hear more words like that from the Dublin government. What made it all the worse watching him was that the previous day we had listened to David Trimble being interviewed on the issue and hearing how he was going to give ``Andrews'' ``a bit of my mind'' when he met him at Stormont the following day. Well bully for you David, but are you sure you've got enough to share around?
His comment provoked not one iota of a response from the interviewers of course. I tried to imagine Gerry Adams being asked about his impending trip to number 10 and him replying that he was going to give Tony Blair a ``bit of my mind'' because of remarks Blair had made in the past.
Just a few days before that I listened to one of those people who have a deep insight into the thinking of the UDA/UFF, not that it requires any depth of profundity for that. He was being asked about the incident on the Shankill Road when a bus driver was badly burned following an attack upon his bus during what appeared to be a period of unrest in the area following arrests. The spokesperson commented that after a seres of discussions with community leaders in the area he could now guarantee the safety of bus drivers in the area.
Not an eyebrow was raised at this remark. No reference to who was he to guarantee anyone's safety.
I thought back to the incidents in Lurgan and Armagh a couple of weeks previous when rioting had broken out following yet another arrest of Colin Duffy. The headlines the next day were about whether or not Sinn Féin should now be barred from the talks at Stormont. I believe that Mo Mowlam was even asked her opinion on the matter and questioned as to whether or not the Mitchell Principles had been breached.
So when I saw David Andrews squirm embarrassingly with the line of questioning I longed for him to speak out as forthrightly as the unionists and loyalists. I didn't want any ifs or buts, maybes or perhaps. I wanted him to say, ``Yes, that's exactly what I said. Why shouldn't I? I'm a minister in a government that according to the constitution says that Ireland is composed of 32 counties not 26. Why are you surprised at my comments? In fact, why are you asking me such ridiculous questions? If course I want institutions that are government-like, all-Ireland like. That's our objective, didn't you know that? And, by the way, when I'm up in the north eastern part of my country next week I'll be giving David Trimble and his like a bit of my mind so I will''.
Keep on dreaming.