Governance in Northern Ireland is set to be impacted by the unionist and loyalist reaction to a controversial decision to limit an Orange Order parade in Belfast, a senior member of the protestant loyal order has warned.
Grand Secretary of the Orange institution Drew Nelson said there was a realisation by pro-Union politicians a "knee-jerk" reaction was not enough and the response should last longer than just the duration of the annual marching season.
Senior unionists are considering the next phase of a pledged "graduated response" to the Parades Commission determination banning the north Belfast parade from passing the nationalist Ardoyne neighbourhood on July 12.
The crisis has placed a question mark on the future viability of the power-sharing administration at Stormont, with Democratic Unionist First Minister Peter Robinson having gone as far as to state that the institutions are "under threat".
Political rivals have been scathing over the unionist reaction, accusing them of placing peace process gains in jeopardy.
A coalition of five unionist and loyalist political parties have met with Orange leaders to discuss their plans
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