THE first canvasser of the election came to my door the other night and tried to give me an oversized leaflet extolling the virtues of the candidates she represented.
Pushing the leaflet into my hand she walked off. I am still not quite sure why she rang the door bell so persistently – given her lack of willingness to engage she could have saved us both time by sticking her propaganda through the letter box.
Nevertheless the nice lady did her bit for democracy and trotted off to my neighbours for another piece of farce that passes for communication.
Despite all the pretence political parties are not always that keen on dialogue with constituents but in fairness with soccer and Masterchef on TV the electorate are in a ‘do not disturb’ mode.
The election for the next assembly is now under way and it’s going to be a long three weeks.
Some veteran faces from all parties will be slipping off stage into retirement.
One face that will be missed is that of out-going Speaker, Mitchel McLaughlin.
The Sinn Féin representative was never a hardliner and does not appear to have had an active service role in the republican movement.
He was reported to have once said that Jean McConville’s murder was not a crime - words that have haunted his otherwise near perfect image as a moderate.
As Speaker, McLaughlin has tried to govern the rowdy assembly with true impartiality and on occasion has had no problem ordering former comrades from the chamber.
To his credit he has also tried to treat the various traditions represented in Stormont with parity.
Stormont did not collapse with the Sinn Féin man in the hotspot, just as Belfast City Hall’s dome did not collapse with its first nationalist lord mayor in the form of SDLP veteran Alban Maginness - also now stepping off the political stage.
Maginness has been a much-underrated politician by his own party and his voice has been one of moderation and calm amidst the often sectarian stormy seas of north Belfast’s political divide.
In some ways the devoutly Catholic MLA probably recognised that in a changing and more secular political climate it was the right time to move on.
The Ulster Unionists will see one of their former stalwarts march off into the sunset as the former health minister and South Belfast MLA Michael McGimpsey also calls it a day.
McGimpsey is another thoroughly decent politician who did not seek the spotlight as he got on with the daily grind of his job.
The DUP’s veteran in South Belfast, Jimmy Spratt, will also make a giant-sized hole to be filled in the DUP ranks.
Spratt, the one time combative leader of the Police Federation, made for a good constituency representative and moderated over time.
Having fought and won a battle against illness Spratt retired to spend well-earned time with his grandchildren.
A face not too many will be sad to see leave politics (though not quite yet) is the colourful and controversial leader of UKIP in Northern Ireland, David McNarry.
Some may say that McNarry is a forthright politician but more often people believe that he recklessly says exactly what’s on his mind regardless of the consequences.
In many ways he was UKIP before UKIP and therefore is eminently suited to his fellow travellers in GB.
The feisty and fearless Alliance MLA, Anna Lo, leaves a big gap for her party.
Lo has put her head more than once into the lion's mouth and survived.
Attempts to make a political cult figure out of her were misguided but there can be no doubt that she made a huge impact on the subject matters that were close to her heart.
In some ways the SDLP must regret not capturing someone like Lo into their ranks but often people regard Alliance as a soft landing for their political views.
The incoming assembly is unlikely to be very different in political make up – there will inevitably be some losses for the DUP and possibly some gains for the UUP.
The SDLP will regard holding what they have as a good election. Alliance may feel the pinch from a resurgent UUP and a more modern looking SDLP.
People before Profit party is likely to be a new entry at the expense of Sinn Féin but we will not see the meltdown of the established parties as happened in the Republic.
So no one should be measuring up for curtains at OFMDFM other than the incumbents.
