Mr Robinson announced on Thursday that he will not be contesting in the May Assembly elections and he is expected to step down as party leader and Northern Ireland first minister before the end of next month. It is nearly as if one was dead and listening to the obituary.
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DUP members led the tribute on Monday and were joined by several Sinn Féin MLAs.
“Mr Robinson added yesterday: “…ultimately, the electorate in Northern Ireland will judge whether it wants to have wreckers deciding the future of Northern Ireland or whether it wants to invest its future in the hands of those who genuinely want to make a fist of the most hard circumstances to move Northern Ireland forward”.
Peter Robinson said it was time for the next generation to take over leadership of the party.
“I want to thank him for the legacy that he has left us and left Northern Ireland more secure than ever before within the union”, Mr Givan said.
North Antrim MLA David McIlveen recognised his “four decades of faithful service”.
While it was Mr Robinson’s last appearance at Question Time, it was his new Junior Minister, Emma Pengelly, who dominated the half-hour of MLAs’ written questions before the 15 minutes of more spontaneous topical issues.
While Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness’s seven years in office has not been characterised with the same bonhomie, the republican insisted he has developed a strong relationship with his unionist partner in government.
Among those who also paid tribute was arch critic Jim Allister, a former DUP MEP who split from the party when it agreed to share power with Sinn Fein. “I think it is a logical time to stand down”, Professor John Tonge, Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool, said.
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Assembly Speaker Mitchel McLaughlin of Sinn Féin also wished him well.
