Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill and Gerry Adams

But is this just a tough stance for the purposes of electioneering, or is there a more fundamental shift in republican thinking?

A week from polling day, that question is still unanswerable. Sinn Fein’s one firm red line in this election is that Arlene Foster cannot return as first minister during the RHI inquiry. After that, there are vaguer demands for “equality” and “respect”.

In response, the DUP has said that its demands will be “proportionate” to those of Sinn Fein – ie if republicans have modest demands, they won’t weigh in with a large shopping list of their own.

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There has been pressure on Sinn Fein, particularly from Irish language activists, to say that an Irish language act is a precondition for re-entering government. Intriguingly, Sinn Fein has refused to do so.

On Talkback yesterday, Alex Maskey said clearly “we’ve been very cautious about using the term ‘red lines’”. If, somehow, Arlene Foster either decides to or is persuaded to stand aside after the election it is feasible that the DUP and Sinn Fein will be back in office within weeks.

That does not mean that such an outcome is likely – but Sinn Fein is being very careful to leave it wide open for that to happen.

McCallister comes out for Alliance

Former UUP and NI21 deputy leader John McCallister has backed Alliance’s South Down candidate.

Mr McCallister, who represented the constituency for almost a decade before losing his seat last year, said that Patrick Brown was a “credible and capable candidate”.

He told the Down Reporter that he would back Mr Brown as the candidate “closest to the values he would like to see in an MLA” and transfer to other opposition parties.

While in NI21, Mr McCallister was a critic of Alliance. Just two days before the 2014 European election, he denounced colleague Basil McCrea’s move to redesignate the party from ‘unionist’ to ‘other’, saying that it put NI21 “right into no man’s land with the Alliance Party”.

Upcoming hustings

• West Tyrone: Omagh Community House, February 23, 11am (Mencap).

• North West: North West Business Complex, Skeoge Industrial Estate, February 23, 7pm (Enterprise North West).

• Human Rights and Equality Hustings: Galway House, 165 York St, Belfast, February 24, 10am (Human Rights Consortium/Equality Coalition).