Ken Reid: Tuesday, 12 January 2010
The day after
News
Something of an anti-climax at Stormont. The media frenzy of Monday was replaced by a subdued atmosphere in the Great Hall.
Arlene Foster had her first day in office and when she visited the canteen she seemed unaffected by her new role.
The DUP had a few more out backing Peter Robinson but generally the parties seemed to want a calmer atmosphere.
But behind the scenes the talks are continuing on breaking the policing and justice deadlock.
Gerry Adams gave a strange press conference where he merely confirmed the talks were continuing but said little else.
The question is how much time will they take?
Nigel Dodds has headed to Westminster and he is a key player in the DUP talks team. It is not clear when Peter Robinson will be back in circulation but it should be later in the week.
Gregory Campbell was again saying the necessary confidence was still not there to devolve policing and justice.
But there appears to be a will to do business.
If Peter Robinson goes back to his party and says this is the best deal available, surely it will be hard for the DUP to reject it.
It is also clear the other parties will need to be included in the negotiations.
Things could move quickly before the end of the week.
That did not seem possible only on Monday.
This process never fails to surprise.
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