The Stormont House agreement, which had initially been welcomed as a means of stabilising power-sharing in Belfast, was thrown into uncertainty last week after a bid to introduce welfare reforms failed to pass the assembly.
He argues that the SDLP can contribute hugely to the democratic health of the entire island by stabilising the Stormont administration and the cross-border institutions set up under the Good Friday accord.
Stabilising the east and drawing it closer to EU values is a formidable long-term task.
Compare and contrast the strategies adopted by the owners of the Daily Mail with their Daily Mirror counterparts over the past 20 years, or over a similar period, the difference between BSkyB and ITV (although the latter is finally stabilising).
Under-capitalised private banks, under a deposit-insurance umbrella, are being sold or closed.The finance ministry's chief challenge is to get to grips with the burden of domestic debt, now equivalent to 79% of GDP, while capping inflation and stabilising the exchange rate.
The euro fell by 3.6% against the dollar in early 2011 before stabilising.
That was true of the classical gold standard, when working people lacked the political clout to resist a monetary policy overwhelmingly geared toward stabilising the fixed-rate system.
The market needs to be directly harnessed towards the goal of stabilising population growth at a sustainable level.
The euro needs a more hands-off means of stabilising economies, perhaps even allowing countries to default.
Loan losses appear to be stabilising.
An unemployment rate of 12% this year is at least showing some signs of stabilising.
