I share this wish. I, too, am impatient to restore government in Northern Ireland to those elected by the people of Northern Ireland. There is much we wish to do to improve people's lives. Devolution must, though, be based on democratic principles. All that counts in a democracy is people's votes.
Threats of violence can play no role.
Nor can any party with a private army and a huge capacity to wage war expect democrats to view their position as anything other than threatening. Mr Blair's deadline was based on a belief that a seismic shift had occurred in the attitudes of Sinn F in and the IRA towards violence. Unfortunately, no evidence has come forward to support this belief. Mr Adams' article in yesterday's Irish Times made it clear that the IRA has made no commitment to decommission. When asked why the British government is so certain that decommissioning will take place shortly after the executive is formed, he nonchalantly says this is a question that only the British government can answer.