If Assembly members in favour of the Belfast Agreement were expecting First and Deputy First ministers to be elected in a show of glory at Stormont yesterday, they were to be disappointed.
Instead, there were postponements, point-scoring and farm-yard fun. Anti-agreement unionists have denounced the elections as a political pantomime, with Women's Coalition and Alliance members redesignating as unionist.
The Alliance leader, David Ford, provided ample ammunition. "I would rather be the back end of a pantomime horse for a day than see the peace process collapse," he told BBC Radio Ulster yesterday morning.
That set the tone for the day.
The UK Unionist leader, Bob McCartney, said the Assembly had often been a farce, but he never thought its future would depend on "a self-confessed horse's ass". Mr Ford had given "an entirely new meaning to 'leading from the rear'."
On Friday the Alliance leader had spoken strongly against redesignation when the Women's Coalition had obliged, Mr McCartney said.
Mr Ford had stated he wouldn't be dressing up as a "Hallowe'en unionist". He was now a "Guy Fawkes unionist", Mr McCartney said.
With such "verbal and political gymnastics", Alliance members belonged "not in this arena but in the circus", the UK Unionist leader added.
The DUP was at it, too. Peter Robinson wondered who was the front end of the pantomime horse and who provided the nose-bag.
He quoted Mr Ford's own words at him. The Alliance leader appeared uneasy.
"You can't even look us in the eye," shouted an anti-agreement unionist. Mr Ford was "squirming in his seat as he swallows his own words", said Mr Robinson.
He noted it was only three days since Mr Ford had ruled out redesignation - "and they say a week is a long time in politics".
He wasn't the only politician guilty of inconsistency, the DUP deputy leader said. Mr Trimble had said 10 days earlier that his re-election on the basis of the redesignation of other parties would lack credibility.
He had done a "360-degree about-turn", said Mr Robinson. Mr Trimble fiddled with his poppy and fingered his diary.
Nationalist members appeared bored by proceedings. A glossy brochure circulated in SDLP and Sinn FΘin ranks which their Ministers autographed next to their own picture. One SDLP member even made a paper fan.
Sinn FΘin's Martin McGuinness noted that DUP "comedians" were poking fun at pro-agreement politicians. "They have had a laugh but we will have the last laugh," he said.
There was whinnying and neighing when Mr Ford rose to speak. He defended the redesignation decision and said "a small minority in this place" couldn't be allowed to thwart the wishes of the people of Northern Ireland.