So how does the current crop of politicians match up? – Tom Kelly

I read that Taoiseach Simon Harris came into this world in October 1986. To put this in perspective, I started working with the late Seamus Mallon MP in September 1986, after completing an internship in Washington DC.

As the young Harris raced through his life from nappies to puberty, my career was at the coal face of the bare-knuckle ring that was northern politics.

Rough and tumble it was but there was also fierce comradeship. Internal political disagreements were, to say the least, forthright.

There were definitely two SDLP types back then. There were the pseudo-intellectuals who, like the smartest pupils in the class, always liked to remind you how smart they were.

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On the other side were politicos from the school of hard knocks; instinctive types forged by life experiences and rooted in local communities.

I was never accused of being intellectual. And I was certainly too busy with other activities at university to ever bother with student politics.

But one thing was for sure about the 1980s and early 90s: there was no place for a politician or activist with a glass jaw.

Many of today’s lot are sensitive souls incapable of absorbing the slightest media criticism, let alone a political challenge. It’s almost as if they were produced in a crystal factory.

Politics was a bruising sport and it did no harm if you had to drop the shoulder or occasionally dig with the elbow. The sanitisation of Irish political life has done little to improve the quality of the candidates or instil conviction or passion.

A rare exception is Claire Hanna, the energetic MP for South Belfast, who makes one breathless just trying to follow her schedule on social media. She’s a dynamic and yet emotionally engaged politician who manages to combine intelligence with street savvy. A rare flower in a garden overflowing with hogweed. Claire is the template and benchmark for any aspiring modern politician – whatever their party.

The DUP’s Pam Cameron is another star performer who is coming into her own as a junior minister. In fact, Sorcha Eastwood of Alliance and Liz Kimmins of Sinn Féin are also blessed with good communication skills and affability.

Whilst there remains an imbalance in the ratio between female and male elected representatives at Stormont, the strongest and most articulate voices certainly tip in favour of the women in the chamber.

Whilst initially sceptical about the ability of the SDLP to turn around its electoral fortunes based on being the official opposition at Stormont, it’s hard not be impressed by the stellar interventions by Matthew O’Toole.

As leader of the opposition he’s tearing strips off the Executive parties by forensically dissecting the babble emanating from ministerial press releases. O’Toole is a master of detail and is gaining the SDLP much-needed airtime. Whilst the role of opposition arose from circumstance rather than design, he is maximising its benefits.

The big weakness in the SDLP strategy appears to be an inability by some of his Assembly colleagues to catch up with his game. It’s a small team and everyone needs to pull their weight. Not to put too fine a point on it, those who can’t or won’t perform to 100% should get off the pot.

The SDLP simply hasn’t the luxury (or numbers) to carry a panel of subs.

Whilst initially sceptical about the ability of the SDLP to turn around its electoral fortunes based on being the official opposition at Stormont, it’s hard not be impressed by the stellar interventions by Matthew O’Toole

The political upheaval of the past few weeks has been managed as well as could be expected by the DUP, and Sinn Féin along with the other parties are sensibly not trying to make political capital out of the turbulence.

Stormont needs some stability and bedding down. The possible candidature of some sitting/new MLAs, and indeed possibly two Executive ministers, in the forthcoming general election is unnecessarily disruptive. It also demonstrates a dearth of political talent below the big names in each of those respective parties.

If not careful, we will be measuring our age not by the youthfulness of policemen but taoisigh.