At Easter it defined Partition as the cause of conflict. Its analysis might still be that Partition is the root cause of division, but the possibility of the Union continuing on a progressive and equal basis has been left open. The IRA appears to have finally digested the philosophy of the Good Friday agreement. Nationalists have been exasperated by the continuing negotiations this week and the postponement of the UUC meeting. To nationalists it seems inconceivable that unionists could run the risk of throwing away such a valuable prize as IRA acceptance of consent over the name of the police force and the flying of the Union flag.
Nothing is ever quite that simple.
Nationalists are quite right to say that consent cuts both ways. If Northern Ireland is to remain part of the United Kingdom so long as that is the wish of a majority, nationalists have a right to institutions that they can give allegiance to. That is why nationalists have an automatic right to participate in the Executive. But the Executive governs over a region of the UK.The Tricolour flies over Leinster House all the time. In the British tradition the national flag flies over government buildings on certain prescribed days.