Sinn Fein has just announced a back bench reshuffle, shifting John O'Dowd from chairing the Public Accounts Committee to become the party's education spokesperson. Paul Butler moves across to Enterprise, whilst Paul Maskey gets the role of chairing the powerful watchdog P.A. C.
What should we read into John O'Dowd's move? Is it an attempt to shore up Caitriona Ruane ahead of the minister bringing her proposals on academic selection to the Executive? The minister faces a fortnight of difficult debates in the Chamber, and there is no sign of it getting any easier.
In their last meeting at the new Boyne Visitor Centre, the outgoing Taoiseach and the outgoing First Minister exchanged pledges to work towards a better future. Ian Paisley vowed that there would be "no turning back" to "the bad old days". Certainly the sight of the two men, flanked by two cannons, but engaging in no fights (sham or otherwise) represented a striking image of the new era.
I didn't travel down to the Boyne, but I did get a full copy of Ian Paisley's speech. It's structured around the initials of the Boyne.
B is for Boyne. O is for Orange Input. Y is for You and I. N is for No Turning Back. E is for Evermore.
What was the rhetorical inspiration for this "backronym"? Could Ian Paisley, shortly to wave goodbye to Martin McGuinness, have been thinking of the Dolly Parton ballad D.I.V.O.R.C.E? Or has he been humming the more upbeat D.I.S.C.O?
Or with Bertie just a cannon's length away, was he thinking of Cecelia Ahern's P.S. I Love You?
(P.S. I have been informed that I should have credited D.I.V.O.R.C.E to Tammy Wynette, not Dolly Parton!)
After twice failing to bring the Victims Commission Bill forward for debate, the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister broke their duck today having agreed amendments designed to resolve the deadlock.
The proposals would give the First and Deputy First Ministers the option to appoint a Chief Commissioner, without requiring them to do so. The commission could decide some matters by a majority vote, but others, involving finance and its plan of work, would require unanimity. No one with a criminal conviction would be allowed to work for the Commission, unless the First and Deputy First Ministers give their prior approval.
Jim Shannon, Naomi Long, Basil McCrea (and then I lost count) insisted that noone should play "political football" with the victims. Of course this didn't stop anyone continuing to wrangle about the amendments. Despite that, the DUP and Sinn Fein have the votes to push their proposals through.
Going back to Jim, Naomi and Basil ( and I suppose Jennifer McCann too although she talked about "political point scoring"), it made me wonder which issue is it alright to play "political football" with? I suppose the Maze stadium might qualify, as that might be the only kind of football which ever gets played there. But I am open to any other suggestions.
I'm 