Power sharing in Belfast is hanging by a thread following a series disputes that have left a caretaker First Minister in charge at Stormont. Those working to heal the latest rift between Unionists and Sinn Féin politicians face a tough task ahead The ongoing political crisis in Northern Ireland, with the historic 1998 devolution settlement hovering on the brink of total collapse, has largely caught the Governments in London and Dublin by surprise. For some years, both have regarded the Northern Ireland problem as settled and have failed to take sufficient interest as events steadily spiralled into the present head-on confrontation. Their underestimate of the gravity of the crisis is reflected in their pious calls for the warring politicians in Belfast to rekindle the inspiring spi