better for them to stay home and work out their problems

| Readers 5

The BBC’s Gareth Gordon begins by quoting former Washington Post columnist Mary McGrory, writing in 2000, on the invitations to the White House St Patrick’s Day celebration, “So I have a feeling and I don’t know how widespread it is… that really this year it might have been better for them to stay home and work out their problems. And not come again until it was finally settled.” and suggests that advice should have been followed this year too. He looks for any sign for optimism – the only item he finds is the glister of the DUP’s announcement that they met with Rev Mervyn Gibson, chairman of the Loyalist Commission.. and that’s not much of a glister. But he does provide a suitably vague quote from Secretary of State for Wales and Northern Ireland, Peter Hain, “We’ll be ready to announce what we’re going to do about restoring the institutions when we’re ready to announce it”.. ah yes..still finalising that strategy then…

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