It will take more than one brief spark to set the campaign on fire

THE Northern Ireland Assembly election campaign came to life for a moment this week — but only for a moment.

Verbal sparks began to fly and, inevitably, Ian Paisley was involved. He can always be relied on to liven things up when they get tedious.

The attention given to Paisley's kerbside spat with David Trimble illustrates how bizarre and boring the election campaign has been.