The DUP has come a long way from being a party of protest to being the dominant party of government in Northern Ireland.

Considering the disillusionment that already exists with our governing institutions, and the potential further fragmentation of unionist electoral representation, it is within the DUP’s interests that Stormont avoids collapse.

A range of reasons explain the DUP’s not-so-recent eclipse of the once-dominant UUP, but the lengthy imposition of direct rule in 1972 was arguably a turning point.

When mainstream unionism accepted power-sharing in 1998, the electorate’s party loyalty was nothing like it was previously. Unionists had learned to live without the UUP; many had already flocked towards the DUP.

In the wake of the latest Stormont crisis, the DUP should know better than to repeat the UUP’s mistakes of handing power to Westminster for undetermined timescales.

Should they walk out of the Executive, the DUP may appear clueless, ineffective and incapable of leading. They would effectively punish unionists for republican action or inaction.

Without local decision-making, just hard-liners on the margins saying they told us so, the unionist vote will likely disperse across the various factions even further.f  nnn

The UUP resigned from the Executive this week, but the DUP needs no lessons on brinkmanship or keeping the moral high ground.

Whereas the late Ian Paisley personified the party’s defiance, Peter Robinson has come to embody its resilience.

Robinson needs the backing of the British and Irish governments fast, and reassurances from Sinn Féin at that, as opposed to simply passing the buck to Downing Street.

As Robinson would happily remind David Cameron in any other circumstance, the people of Northern Ireland voted for his party, not the Conservative Party.

The people of Northern Ireland want Stormont to work, but under the circumstances they could do without it just fine.

The fear for the DUP should be that they might do without them just fine, too.

Should business at Stormont be suspended and resumed long down the line, who says voters will return to them?