A couple of weeks ago, my column was about longevity and leadership. On the day it was published Doug Beattie announced his resignation as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.
I had also speculated about the tenure of Colum Eastwood after his almost 10 years at the helm of the SDLP.
Earlier this year, Gavin Robinson became leader of the DUP. A week really is a long time in politics and events often determine the fate of political careers.
The mantle of longest serving leader in the north now rests with Naomi Long of the Alliance Party. Long is 11 years older than Eastwood. On the plus side, she’s 15 years younger than the incoming leader of the UUP, Mike Nesbitt.
Age is but an number but leading a political party in a toxic cauldron like the north takes its toll. Bookmakers may be offering odds on who will be next to go but this writer will refrain from jinxing nervous leaders.
Doug Beattie hit a straight bat, was honourable and well-intentioned. Unfortunately he wasn’t hugely consistent and was prone to one or more self inflicted wounds in the media.
He faced the impossible task of trying to turn the antiquated Ulster Unionist organisation into something resembling a modern political party. It was doomed to failure. As the saying goes - you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink; that’s the UUP.
Beattie should have followed his instincts, imposed his will and ordered his colleagues onto the opposition benches.
As the infamous Fianna Fáil adviser PJ Mara once said of Charlie Haughey, “Uno duce, una voce”. That’s a rule for all political parties. Beattie was lumbered with too many back seats drivers who never ventured past third gear.
The incoming leaders of the SDLP and UUP must work together to offer a realistic working alternative to the monopolistic, photoshopped partnership of the DUP and Sinn Fein
All Beattie’s problems now face Mike Nesbitt as he enters round two as leader of a fractious party of blue rinses, ladies who lunch and farmers. If he expects fair weather, he may invest in a Child of Prague statue.
Eastwood’s resignation wasn’t really a surprise. Many people speculated about his future as did he before the general election, opining that he was finished should be lose his Foyle seat.
When you have been in elected politics for 20 years with nine of those as leader and are still only 41, there’s no ideal time to jump from the top post. Colum made the right choice.
Eastwood is a tenacious, articulate and able politician. He was a risk taker but sometimes those risks didn’t pay off.
Like his predecessors Mark Durkan and the late John Hume, Colum was and is a fierce champion for his native city - which is good for Derry but at times also a weakness when having to lead a political party with an expansive and diverse geographical base.
Eastwood’s main contribution to the SDLP has been as a moderniser, shaking a moribund organisation out of its comfort zone reminiscing about bygone glory days, and refocusing its objectives to attract a younger demographic.
His one-size-fits-all approach didn’t work organisationally for the SDLP as the membership and structures needed for success are absent in so many constituencies.
Neither Beattie nor Eastwood are retiring from public life which is good, as both still have major contributions to make, not least in building up the meaningful inter-community centrist middle ground. That’s proper bridge-building between the two traditions which share this narrow space of Northern Ireland.
The incoming leaders of the SDLP and UUP must work together to offer a realistic working alternative to the monopolistic, photoshopped partnership of the DUP and Sinn Fein who cohabit in a loveless marriage to exert power, rather than to exercise powersharing.
Beattie and Eastwood deserve much credit for their leadership and for stepping up to the plate. But, as the late Patrick Lumumba wrote: “Time limits are a good thing. No matter how good a dancer you are, you must leave the stage.”
