ANALYSIS:Party leader David Ford says their No to the justice offer is principled and not for changing, writes DAN KEENANNorthern News Editor, Bangor, Co Down
IN EARLY August the Alliance leader said "a very definite and emphatic No" to the immediate prospects of becoming minister at a devolved justice department at Stormont.
A DUP source claims to have detected a change in David Ford's stance, evidenced by his more recent comment that "no politician of any wit ever says never". Speaking to The Irish Timesafter his leader's address to conference at the weekend, Mr Ford expanded on his thoughts and on the differences between No and Never.
"At present, the essential conditions of an Executive working together, building a shared future and the real conditions surrounding the devolution of justice are not in place," he said.
"So the answer I give is the answer we gave a few weeks ago . . . no, thank you." Asked if this meant No thank you, or No not just yet, this is what he said.
"Based on what is going around now, it is No thank you. We have set out what we believe to be vital before justice is devolved and there's no point in suggesting that we would be talking to anybody until these sort of things are happening."
These things which Alliance "believe to be vital" come under three main headings.
The first covers the need for a stable and "coherent" Executive. Tracts of Mr Ford's speech at the weekend underscore the widespread belief that the DUP- Sinn Féin-led Executive is neither coherent nor stable.
The second of the Ford vital issues relates to the "Shared Future" - a formal British government policy document published in March 2005 - to which the Alliance Party wishes the Executive parties would pay more than lip-service.
Thirdly, and just for good measure, Mr Ford also wants new commitments to resource more adequately any future justice department. He believes what is on offer at present, especially in relation to the PSNI, is insufficient.
The three issues combine make the prospect of him or any other senior Alliance member becoming justice minister currently unrealistic.
But there are other issues, too, and ones that may alarm both governments as well as the SDLP - which believes the justice minister's job should automatically be theirs under the d'Hondt mechanism.
For Mark Durkan, the d'Hondt process of allocating ministries is a core principle which underpins the principle and practice of powersharing in a divided society.
On the basis of Mr Ford's comment to The Irish Times, d'Hondt is less of a guiding principle and more of a tactic.
"We do not believe you would actually have good government as long as you have this notion of an all-inclusive Executive," he said. "As far as I am concerned d'Hondt is an unfortunate mathematical formula. It is in no sense a principle - the principle is sharing power. D'Hondt is about dividing power.
And he goes further. The Ford analysis applies to anyone considering the justice job - if it comes up - and not just the Alliance Party.
"It is very hard, looking at what the Executive is up to at the moment, to see the necessary changes will be made within a year. Are the conditions in place for anybody to be minister for justice, not necessarily me?"