Public figures in this State who have turned cartwheels to save Mr David Trimble's political bacon since the signing of the Belfast Agreement may be bemused - perhaps even angered - by his weekend remarks. The Republic is "sectarian" and "pathetic," he declared after he had been re-elected unopposed as leader of the Ulster Unionists on Saturday. He went on to contrast the "vibrant" United Kingdom with the "mono-ethnic, mono-cultural State to our south."
It is tempting to respond in kind. There can be a very special pleasure in landing stones back on those who dwell in glass-houses. But the temptation should be resisted. Neither of the states which make up this island is so perfect that it can afford to disparage the other. If Mr Trimble wanted to highlight the Republic's inadequacies he could have chosen precise targets rather than letting fly with schoolboy-type abuse.
So why did he do it? Some, who know Mr Trimble well, say that he was just being his natural self. He is no diplomat. He is short on charm and he does not dissemble. Others will simply describe him as cranky. But however crude and imprecise his outburst at the weekend, people in this State would do well to recognise that his view from the North is not entirely unrepresentative.
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We might prefer to be thought of as the land of the Celtic Tiger, of entertainment and sporting success, of growing cultural sophistication. Many northerners see instead a society of tribunals, of golden circles, of social services in crisis, of groaning infrastructure. And when people in the Republic call Northern Ireland intolerant or sectarian, they will point back to the gathering racism of the south, the continuing failure to provide for Travellers, the divisions over abortion and personal freedoms.
Mr Trimble is reaching out to that cohort, rallying it to unionism's traditional assertion of superiority. He is speaking to many middle-ground unionists, in language which they understand, for all that they have not heard much of it for some time. In parallel, he is seeking a new plebescite on the Border, to be held with the local elections in May of next year.
There are dangers in this gambit. North-south relations can scarcely be enhanced. But it indicates that Mr Trimble is now beginning to lay down his own agenda within his party and that he is gaining in strength and control. He is seeking to build an image as an aggressive defender of the union. Side swipes at the traditional enemy south of the Border will counter those who have portrayed him in the past as a compromiser who will lead his people down the road to a United Ireland. Those who express surprise at his weekend remarks might do well to cast their minds back to the first Drumcree and to the sight of David Trimble, in his Orange regalia, confronting the lines of police, shouting at the cameras about the rights of his people to march the Garvaghy Road.
Which is the true David Trimble? The political savant or the angry Drumcree Orangeman? In fact both are real. And they seem to be combining in a new and skilfully constructed political persona.