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The oppositional nature of party politics has left many of us heaving a sigh of relief that what has been billed as the nastiest election in British political history is now over. Our opportunity to exercise our democratic rights has passed for another four or five years and politicians will now get on with the business of running/ruining the country ? depending on your political viewpoint. For many voters, of course, the simplistic nature of an X on the ballot paper in no way summarises all that they believe in. Perhaps the same can be said in the ongoing battle over the future of our arts councils. Whilst few arts professionals would relish the prospect of their abolition, this may have as much to do with the unpalatable nature of the alternatives, as the esteem in which these institutions are held.
As the smoke from Wales? ?bonfire of the quangos? (AP issue 80, 23 August, 2004) starts drifting across the Irish Sea towards the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) (p1), the arm?s-length principle is yet again being invoked in an attempt to stave off an impending attack by government cost-cutters. Determined to look on the bright side, ACNI apparently regards the forthcoming review of public sector bodies as ?an important strategic opportunity to marshal support from the sector?. And in much the same way as holding a funeral gives one the chance to meet up with long-lost relatives for a chin-wag, ACNI is now calling the arts community to rally round and speak up to save it from extinction. But conducting a consultation exercise when your back is against the wall (and possibly with the writing already on that wall), is never a comfortable position to be in. Perhaps Mary Cloake, south of the border, has the right idea (p7). The best time to consult with your constituency is when the discussion can be followed by action based on its outcome ? not when your power base is slipping away. Even Tony Blair might have got this message by now.