The big man breaks it off

It was announced on Friday night that Dr Paisley will step down as moderator of the Free Presbyterian church at the end of the year. Ever since he led the DUP into government with Sinn Fein trouble has been brewing in the fundamentalist heartlands.

And in those early days leading up to May 07 Paisley tried to paint himself as some sort of martyr, bullied into government with Republicans by the British government, and sacrificing himself for the good of the people of Ulster. But this clearly hasn't washed with his church and the writing was soon on the wall.

I for one am glad that the Free Presbyterian church no longer has a moral foothold in the running of our country and in that respect this secularisation of the DUP is no bad thing. Some of the comments from their leadership which surface in the press from time to time are a few beard trimmings short of the brand of fundamentalism peddled by the likes of the Taliban.

But on the other hand I can understand the frustration of the Free Ps at Paisley's abandonment of their stance of no government with terrorists. There was no evidence of Paisley gradually softening his views over a sustained period of time like Trimble and the Ulster Unionists, or even the journey undergone by loyalism's more eloquent spokesmen. This seemed like too much of a smash and grab lunge for power as soon as the opportunity arose.

Commentators have spoken of a changing of the political wind, as if something magical, mystical even, has taken place - as if there was no other way that Paisley could have led his party in this direction.

In my opinion it's simply the return to NI of "normal" politics which we as a country have longed for. Sadly along with the bread and butter issues comes the politics of opportunism, personal gain, and lust for power.

No wonder this half of the chuckle brothers has had such a smile on his face. He's grabbed the opportunity of a lifetime.