I think unionists are having some kind of competition about who can come up with the best insult for Caitriona Ruane. Back in January this blog cautioned Sammy Wilson about his use of a Mr Bean sobriquet. Sammy and Mr Bean
Now Mervyn Storey has used the once in four years opportunity to describe our Education Minister as a "political spinster" who has let February 29th go by without making a proposal to her Assembly committee on the vexed question of post primary transfer. Mervyn says "there have been no flowers, no rings, no soft lighting, no mood music, no wooing of the committee, no courtship, and no proposals from the Minister – just the usual silence" (which begs the question, if Caitriona had popped the question would Mervyn say yes?).
Anyway, forget the insults, what unionists want to know is will Caitriona Ruane be reshuffled? For the definitive answer I turned to her nominating officer, Gerry Adams, who I have just interviewed for tomorrow's Inside Politics.
Apart from asking him about the Education Minister's future, I asked about the transition process in the DUP, the Mairead Farrell commemoration, and whether he agrees with a motion on the clar (or agenda) for his party's Ard Fheis which calls on Sinn Fein to appoint joint presidents, one from each side of the border.
For all his answers you can tune in to Inside Politics at 12.45pm tomorrow on BBC Radio Ulster.
We have been expecting the shake up in our 26 councils to come to the Executive for a decision for some weeks. At one point yesterday, 28th February, was pencilled in as the most likely date. However the meeting at Stormont Castle came and went with no word on the future of local government.
It's understood the Environment Minister Arlene Foster is concerned that time is running out for an agreement on the number of councils. She has threatened that she may have to move ahead with an election next year to the existing 26 councils if the parties don't sign off on a compromise number of new super councils soon. But some republicans aren't convinced her deadline is for real. How many councils might we get? 11 still looks like the magic number, even though Sinn Fein officially remains wedded to 7.
Attempts have been underway to arrange a special executive meeting on the topic next Tuesday, but with some key ministers unavailable that's not going ahead. Officials are still juggling ministerial diaries to see if a meeting later in the week is a possibility.
Is it just me or does anyone else out there detect a sense of personal empathy in a statement from Ian Paisley Junior on Prince Harry's military service in Afghanistan? In commending the Prince's decision to serve in the frontline against the Taliban, Ian Jr., another son from a famous family, points out "not only has he had to operate under the immense pressure and stress that active service brings, but he has had to deal with the scrutiny of the ever present media examining his every move and just hoping he will make a mistake they can report".
What are the chances the local media will go into a huddle to consider a news blackout on Ian Jr. as he returns to the Ballymena front line to battle for the right to inherit his father's Westminster seat?
I'm 
