Is Stormont’s unaccountable system of government truly democratic? The Civil Liberties Union for Europe’s classification of governments would suggest not.

It argues that below the rank of full democracies are what it calls flawed democracies.

These are states which have open and fair elections, but they have significant weaknesses in governance and an underdeveloped political culture. Stormont would appear to fit comfortably into that category.

Almost 60 years after the birth of the civil rights campaign for democracy, we are now back where we started – in a flawed democracy, alongside places like Mongolia, Botswana and Thailand.

Newton Emerson: The Treasury tap is back on – but does more money mean more problems for Stormont?

Brian Feeney: Why do unionist leaders say the future can be the same as the past?

Welcome to a return to the past.

Where, you might ask, is the evidence for such a dim view of Stormont? You may have noticed some relevant events last week.

In a farcical system whereby members of a coalition government claim they hold each other to account, the first minister told a “scrutiny” committee that her role in government can be divorced from her party’s politics.

So she refused to answer some questions, but seemed happy........

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