In the past, the leader of the UK Government jetting in to Belfast amid a political crisis was a sign the heads of Stormont party leaders were about to get knocked together.
his time? Not so much.
It wasn’t until late on Thursday that there was an official announcement Rishi Sunak was on his way.
Instead, we learned the news from local politicians following their round-table meeting with Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris.
It was suggested by Sir Jeffrey Donaldson the Tory leader’s visit wasn’t even overtly political, but rather Northern Ireland was the only UK region he had not travelled to since becoming Prime Minister in October. A box-ticking exercise, essentially.
Clearly that aspect has angered some of the parties. As Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill put it: “I have no desire to have tea and sympathy with the Prime Minister, what I want to see is a political outcome to such an engagement.”
On Thursday evening, Downing Street said the visit was to mark the return of naval shipbuilding to Belfast, but the PM would be holding “informal” discussions with party leaders.
In his statement on the visit Mr Sunak did not even mention the crisis at Stormont.
One may question the timing of his arrival as being a way of avoiding the nursing strikes in England, but they’re also happening here, albeit health is a devolved matter.
It is unlikely the PM will be visiting any picket lines at hospitals here. If he did, I doubt he would get a warm welcome.
Once upon a time the likes of Tony Blair, Theresa May and Boris Johnson touched down in Belfast to intervene amid crises and provide an impetus for negotiations.
Blair did it on more than one occasion during the Good Friday Agreement talks, while May and Johnson also made trips over in a bid to help resurrect the Stormont institutions.
These days Downing Street takes a less hands-on approach, largely leaving that to Mr Heaton-Harris.
However, there were reports amid his threats to hold a Christmas Assembly election that no one wanted and would have achieved nothing that the PM intervened and forced the Secretary of State into a bizarre U-turn. Downing Street, of course, denied this.
Mr Sunak did become the first Prime Minister in 15 years to attend a British-Irish Council summit in November in Blackpool.
However, it would have been strange if he backed out of the event given next year marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which established the council.
It is also curious Mr Sunak chose to visit this week, ostensibly to congratulate Harland & Wolff being part of a consortium awarded a lucrative naval shipbuilding contract.
That news emerged exactly a month ago today, so why the wait?
Regardless of the motives, it will be impossible for Mr Sunak to completely avoid addressing the myriad of problems facing us.