Merry Christmas
I've just recorded an interview with Sammy Wilson for our last Inside Politics of 2009. He told me that, despite all the talk of Stormont collapsing, the Executive didn't have the feel of an institution in crisis when it met last Thursday.
He stuck to the DUP party line on devolving justice, arguing that Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen's warning that the financial deal on policing and justice was a statement of the obvious, given that a Westminster election is in the offing.
On wider budgetary matters, however, he did reveal that Executive ministers have forged "an agreement in principle" on wide ranging cuts to the budget for the next financial year. Back in September he warned that
Sammy also talks about the lack of agreement at Copenhagen. As a famous sceptic on man made climate change you can imagine he takes a fairly jaundiced view of the proceedings. Our commentators this weekend are Seamus Close and Sian O'Neill, and if you don't catch the programme on 91Èȱ¬ Radio Ulster after the one o'clock news you should be able to get it again on the web.
With some of the key players away it doesn't seem likely there will be any major political developments regarding Stormont's future stability between now and Christmas (although there's still a lot of speculation around that the UDA may make a move on decommissioning over the Christmas and New Year period). Sinn Fein are due to review options at their next Ard Comhairle on January 9th - however it seems unlikely that the meeting, which has a lot of regular business scheduled related to the party's Ard Fheis, will provide any definitive announcements.
Barring dramatic developments, I don't anticipate making any blog entries over the next fortnight. So just in case we don't meet again in cyberspace between now and then I'd like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Brilliant New Year.
I'm 
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