Just when you thought it was safe to go back into Stormont, today's changing of the guard in the Executive is tinged with a hint of past uncertainty. By hedging bets on re-nominating Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister, Sinn Féin is stamping a foot to remind its DUP partners that it hasn't gone away, you know. It is also a reminder that, despite its name, the role of Deputy First Minister is not subservient; we can't have one without the other.
So the assumption of Peter Robinson into high office as Ian Paisley steps down, hangs on what is outstanding from St Andrews. In particular, there is the devolution of policing and justice powers.
Yet there appears to be little dismay at the Stormont impasse. Sinn Féin is merely rattling the cage. It won't force an election after all the work it has done to get there and all the work still to be done before the next hustings. By then, Gerry Adams will still be last man standing of the leaders involved in the historic talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement. With even a clutch of gains under his belt, that should be worth something.
Yet with many matters outstanding, republicans can't be seen to play along in a DUP game of political aggrandisement as Paisley passes the mantle of government to his long-time deputy. Certainly there is a feeling that Sinn Féin has been too aquiescent in proving itself an acceptable partner, while the DUP disparages the Irish language, demands retention of academic selection and – its greatest snub – refuses to budge on devolution of policing. This is a forceful reminder of the disdain traditionally shown by the Unionist establishment that nationalists aren't house-trained.
Yet even if Sinn Féin passes up the opportunity to name its Deputy First Minister beyond today, there is unlikely to be a real crisis. The decision on whether and when an election might be called will be down to Westminster and Dublin. In the past, Downing Street has been content to let the institutions sink into Limbo and Gordon Brown is unlikely to be spurred into action on any issue affecting Ireland, north or south. So Sinn Féin and the DUP will throw shapes for a while, do their wheeling and dealing in the background and we'll be back to business under new management up in Stormont.
