Remarks by Ian Paisley Jnr MP that Northern Ireland could soon face direct rule from Westminster should come as no surprise.

Just as unsurprising, and so telling, is that this is a prospect welcomed by so many here. Really, it is recognition of failure: to lead, to act and communicate.

Frankly, if the Northern Ireland Executive and its ministerial departments were run like a business then powers would be taken away. Simply, Stormont would go into administration.

Whereas citizens of various Eurozone countries have reacted with outrage and embarrassment at their respective economic bailouts by the European Union and IMF, here politicians have continued to receive hand-outs by the UK Treasury within an environment of general acceptance.

Imagine if the Executive was a board of directors: in terms of agreed objectives, willingness to balance departmental budgets, recognition of the need to innovate and promote teamwork and a shared sense of culture among stakeholders, it fails to inspire on all accounts.

Direct rule or not, in numerous ways the role of our elected leaders has already diminished, for citizens and civic society organisations are being relied upon more and more than politicians as agents for change.

Complementing the unwillingness among unionist politicians to lead the replacement of bonfires from residential areas, religious statues and political posters and effigies from symbolic destruction, is the deliberate ignorance of economic reality by republican politicians motivated by political advancement.

As well as encouraging good governance and agreeing means to achieve this, the culture of a company is important too. Often vital to success in production is the health, well-being and embrace of diversity among its people: in backgrounds, experiences and skills.

This is not to compare citizens with employees, but to recognise each individual as an asset of a state’s capital.

In Northern Ireland, where we talk so much about “culture”, there is little evidence of politicians working collaboratively in the best interests of all individuals; instead, “communities” continue to be segregated and vested interests elevated.

Whereas private businesses may benefit from the option to re-brand or re-name to start anew, public institutions have no such luck.

Direct rule would be in no one’s interests, and would do nothing to convince Westminster, Dublin or potential investors that we are mature enough to govern alone.

The only way to convince voters and outsiders otherwise is for Stormont to reinvent itself from within: to start recognising economic reality and the damage that division at the highest political level is having on those throughout society whom politicians claim to lead.