A year ago when Edwin Poots unceremoniously quit as DUP leader, it really did feel like the party was imploding.
His razor-thin victory over Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in a leadership battle after the ousting of Arlene Foster was tearing Northern Ireland's largest unionist party apart.
Internal tensions reached fever pitch at a hotel meeting to ratify his leadership, with senior DUP figures walking out and a veteran member dramatically resigning.
