In case you missed the memo, reconciliation is the new supermajority.

Just as 50 per cent-plus-one is not enough for Irish unity, and in fact would be downright dangerous, so it is the case that unity must now only be considered in the event of the north of Ireland being transformed into the land of milk and honey, a Shangri-La from the Foyle to the Lagan where peace and harmony reins and a discordant word is never uttered.

BBC NI’s flagship political television programme, The View, provoked a response from many nationalists on social media earlier this month when it posed the question as to whether reconciliation ‘or’ unity should be the priority for nationalists today, the clear inference being that a pitch for one necessitates demoting interest in the other.

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This has been a theme cynically picked up by many unionists and others in the media over recent years in the vain attempt to stymie efforts to grow support for a border poll and for serious Irish government led planning and preparation for unity to commence as early as possible.

Analysis: Simon Harris needs to be........

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