A summer of stalemate has seen the |atmosphere sour at Stormont, according to Political Correspondent Noel McAdam, but progress should not prove impossible

By this day last week Executive Ministers and the head of the Civil Service, Bruce Robinson, had received a very angry letter from the First Minister, Peter Robinson.

In it he accused Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy of “acting unlawfully”, breaching his duties as Regional Development Minister and attempting to ‘subvert’ the Executive.

The issue itself — changes to an agreed Executive policy document on regional strategy — was less important than the language and tone which the DUP leader chose to adopt, which could hardly have been more abrasive and confrontational.

He hinted darkly at court action. For example, and, in his best headmaster’s tones, he asked for an “urgent response” to rectify the matter. But he didn’t get one.

Mr Murphy was back from holiday at his Regional Development desk from Monday of this week, but according to his Department is still ‘considering’ a response.

The First Minister also said he wanted an urgent meeting of the Executive and that hasn’t happened, either. It would require the co-signature of Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness — which Mr Robinson apparently asked for in a private memo sent to McGuinness who was on leave — which was not forthcoming.

Mr Robinson also suggested the Regional Development Strategy documents, which include the ironically-titled Shaping the Future, should be withdrawn. That also has not happened.

The episode offered a window into the state of relations between the two main parties at Stormont. In a word: poor. And it is possibly worsening. Effectively Mr Murphy has cocked a snook at the First Minister and challenged his authority.

But for some months now the DUP and Sinn Fein have been less shaping the future than re-living the past. The goodwill and momentum created during the first 12 months of the administration, not least the result of the remarkable public bonhomie between Mr McGuinness and Mr Robinson’s predecessor, Ian Paisley, has appeared to dissipate.

Unsurprisingly, Sinn Fein has sought to test the mettle of the new man and he, in turn, has wanted to put his personal stamp and style on the process he stood outside for so long — and still has major reservations about.

Republicans have relatively little to show for 16 months of the new dispensation and even they, these days, are not impervious to grassroots clamour.

Senior civil servants, many totally frustrated because work is not being cleared, have muttered privately about the sourness which has entered the system. Most suspected the Robinson regime would be closer to the ‘battle a day’ image he and Gerry Adams both predicted but, after several months of relative success, they have been taken aback by how much the parties appear almost keen to irritate each other.

The hope they could slowly move towards recognition of the political possibility of removing each other from respective hooks is evaporating.

And yet the distance between them, even on the substantive issues, is not so great that outline solutions and a choreographed package of measures cannot be envisaged.

While the DUP continues to say ‘no’ rather than ‘no, but’ to both a timetable for the devolution of policing and justice and Irish language legislation, a formula to address both could be found. Other issues also, including the stand-off over a replacement schools transfer system for the 11-plus and the national stadium project at the Maze, are not in themselves insurmountable.

But old arguments are being dusted down. Some unionists suspect Sinn Fein are intent on demonstrating the ‘six counties’ remain ungovernable.

Some republicans fear the DUP wants to force Sinn Fein into walking away to facilitate the development of a voluntary coalition administration between the DUP, SDLP and Ulster Unionists.

But either Sinn Fein or the DUP calling curtains on the current deal would play into the hands of their respective opponents — dissident republican groups and Traditional Unionist leader Jim Allister, respectively.

And while he cannot prevent the current crisis spiralling into suspension, the last thing beleaguered Gordon Brown wants is for the Northern Ireland ‘project’ to begin to unravel also.