At this time of government frustration and political weakness in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin has an opportunity to provide the leadership necessary to bring about devolved administration and Executive powersharing.
If republicans are truly committed to Wolfe Tone's goal of uniting Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter, they should call a special ardfheis and take an early decision to support the justice system within Northern Ireland. Anything less will feed into the sterile politics of drift and prevarication.
On past performances, Sinn Féin may seek to extract political advantage from the situation by postponing any decision on policing until after the Assembly elections in March. That way, the nationalist population would be encouraged to support Sinn Féin in the expectation that its leadership would later deliver on policing and the normalisation of society. To employ such tactics would be a major mistake. It would strengthen the "nay-sayers" within the unionist community, amplify the distrust that poisons relations between the two largest parties, and postpone the emergence of a powersharing Executive.
In seeking leadership from Sinn Féin, the emergence of unprecedented dissent within the Democratic Unionist Party cannot be ignored. Both governments had been led to believe that party leader Ian Paisley would formally indicate his willingness yesterday to become first minister, provided certain conditions were met. Under internal pressure, however, he declined to do so. Later, he modified that stance and said he would take the job provided policing and other outstanding issues were settled and the election results were favourable.
It was a bad day for democracy in Northern Ireland. The two governments were shown to be impotent in the face of ingrained political suspicion. The elected Assembly became a creature of the Northern Ireland Office. Northern Secretary Peter Hain reinterpreted what Dr Paisley actually said in order to keep the St Andrews Agreement alive. As the Speaker of the Assembly Eileen Bell remarked, it was a distasteful situation. The Assembly's credibility has been damaged by this kind of Alice in Wonderland politics. And Mr Hain's authority has been undermined. Last Wednesday, in the House of Commons, he told the DUP there would be no point in proceeding with the St Andrews Agreement unless nominations were made for the positions of first minister and deputy first minister. The governments have now resiled from that position. It may have been a necessary fudge in order to buy time and to keep the process going, but at what cost?
The actions of Milltown gunman Michael Stone at Stormont should not distract attention from yesterday's botched political exercise. Instead, it should concentrate minds on the potential for communal violence. There is a harsh message there for vacillating DUP members. And, eight years after signing the Belfast Agreement, Sinn Féin should be ready, in the context of power-sharing, to support the forces of law and order.