Good points.
I would have hoped that all-party talks would facilitate possible amendments to the British-Irish agreement, whereby more input, in the absence of a working assembly, would be afforded to the British Irish council.
Direct rule is a non-starter in nationalist eyes, but an over-arching council between the British and Irish parliaments might propel a more accommodation between nationalist and unionists.
Its a sad fact, that on my Twitter feed, that some of those Unionists whom I considered to be honourable and decent have reverted to calling on the electorate to vote solely on unionist and nationalist lines.
No talk of education, health, job creation policies. Still the same old flag-waving mantra. In one instance, a seasoned and highly respected Unionist politician tried to label a young SF female candidate, standing for the first time, as a cheerleader for the murdering IRA! Not because she is in the IRa, but because she has the gall to possibly the first SF representative in a unionist dominated council.
The same politician, who sits in the H of Lords also implied that the 140 people who came forward to assist with PSNI inquiries into the murder of Lyra McKee was insufficient. That a lot more people in Creggan should come forward.
With this inherent bigotry is there any hope?
I do think the NI has failed. In one hundred years it has produced a civil war, an economic war between Ireland and Britain, the IRA border campaign of 50's/'60's, it tried to crush civil rights movement and was stuck in reverse for the period of 'The Troubles'.
And despite relative peace, unionism is still stuck in a paranoid mindset from 400yrs ago.