1.   The verdict now is that while the hardened politicians of Ulster may not all like her, they respect her.

2.   Hardened politicians all three, they control formidable though regionally-based political machines and also have reputedly-ambitious sons brought up in the same political mold.

3.   Whatever the reason, the arrival of a hardened politician in a post traditionally filled by a foreign office careerist had immediate effects.

4.   The chaos of the final session was too much even for some hardened Taiwanese politicians, who have gained notoriety abroad for their riotous debates.