Parading, policing and power sharing collide amid Drumcree dispute

Politics in Northern Ireland is often accused of going nowhere fast but right now it more resembles a time warp taking us back three decades.

Divisions that had been dormant over Drumcree flowed angrily again between the parties over the weekend, spilling over into Monday when MLAs returned to the chamber.

Less than 24 hours after the secretary of state called on Stormont's leaders to "double down on compromise", what unfolded in the assembly was all double down, no compromise.

Tempers and emotions flared - despite a warning from the Speaker, Edwin Poots, to mind their manners - amid shouting across the packed benches.

Stormont is known for its theatrics but was what unfolded simply more performative politics or the warm-up for a dramatic act over devolution's future?

Soon after, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson appeared to provide the answer as he gave a press conference on his party's next steps.

He'd already warned that power sharing was in "difficult territory", as he hit out at First Minister Michelle O'Neill and other Sinn Féin politicians for taking part in the Garvaghy Road protest, and called for them to face prosecution.

While saying then that it could not be "business as usual" at Stormont any more, the DUP leader went on to say he was not prepared to be reckless.

From that we can take it to mean power sharing is going to carry on, for now.

But what Robinson is prepared to do first is explore tabling censure motions against Sinn Féin ministers, as well as reporting them to Stormont's standards commissioner for alleged breaches of the ministerial code.

None of those mechanisms will have any hard or immediate effect and O'Neill can only be forcibly removed as first minister, if DUP deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly resigns her post, as neither can hold office without the other.

Despite some calls from unionist rivals for the DUP to walk out of the executive, party insiders say they are embarking on a "pathway" of graduated responses, rather than merely opting to pull the emergency lever and halt power-sharing.

Robinson has also pulled out of attending a Stormont committee on Tuesday that is coincidentally looking at the issue of reforming the institutions. More steps may soon follow.

While the hope is that time and space may allow for rising tempers and rhetoric to be dialled down in a bid to find a resolution, don't expect to see O'Neill and Little-Pengelly standing side-by-side at joint photo opportunities any time soon.

Instead on Monday, it was notable that the two women spoke from their respective backbenches as Little-Pengelly accused the first minister of "running from scrutiny", while O'Neill maintained that she was "proud to stand up" for the Garvaghy Road residents.

A cynic might say the assembly election slogans are already being formed as Sinn Féin politicians said there can be "no going back", while DUP MLAs have been referring to their power-sharing partners as "law breakers not law makers".

Relations between the parties were already in tough terrain, but this unexpected bump in the road over parading has steered things further off course.

All parties know that suddenly stepping off the precipice of devolution is one thing but as recent history tells us, trying to get back up over it never happens as quickly.

Already there is disruption on the hill but with the stand off between the Orange Order and Garvaghy Road residents still going, Stormont's future will likely be linked to whatever the final outcome is at Drumcree.

Not for the first time parading, policing and power-sharing are colliding and finding the route out of this row isn't yet obvious.