The big picture says it all. The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party sitting at the same table as the president of Sinn Féin, Ian Paisley speaking to Gerry Adams for the first time and, far more fundamentally, agreeing to form a powersharing government on a defined date, May 8th.
Did we ever believe that we would see the endgame played out this way in Northern Ireland? Did those diplomats and journalists who have followed every stop and start in the peace process and the addition of every dot and comma to various declarations, communiques and statements ever think that they would witness a day with equal potency to the night of that Good Friday which produced the Belfast Agreement?
Yet, it appears to have happened. We are the privileged onlookers in the biggest political project of our times on the island of Ireland. It may be diminished by the long delay in arriving at such a day. But, it is important to remember that it is the voters, North and South, who have mandated their leaders to seize this moment. It will take them some time to come to terms with the incredible prospect that Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams can find an accommodation to deliver an inclusive, devolved government within six weeks. It would be wise also, at this moment, to consider that it could be derailed by events or dissident actions on either side.
This is the stuff of history as it happens. And based on the attempts by both parties and their spokesmen yesterday, there is every reason to believe that both the DUP and Sinn Féin are being ultra-sensitive to their respective constituencies.
It is encouraging that the understanding reached yesterday should encourage both parties to take ownership of the political process, while establishing a healthy distance between themselves and the two governments. They have initiated a new agenda which should aid the stability and self-assurance of a new administration. In that context, a six-week delay, during which time the DUP will prepare for government and reassure its supporters, has been accepted by Sinn Féin.
As the big picture unfolds, it is important to acknowledge that the peace process would never have got under way without the political courage of David Trimble and the Ulster Unionist Party; John Hume, Seamus Mallon and their successor, Mark Durkan, of the SDLP; and the existence of the Alliance Party to test non-sectarian politics in Northern Ireland. These leaders and parties made huge political sacrifices to enable this moment to come to pass.
Now that this milestone has been reached, it is important that the UUP, the SDLP, the Alliance Party and others should become involved at an early stage in all-party discussions on the establishment and policies of a new government. The greater the inclusivity in the process, the better for everyone concerned. It is vitally important that the political impetus generated should not be lost. The big picture must be the focus.