Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/02/03/sinn-feins-michelle-oneill-is-the-first-irish-republican-to-lead-northern-ireland.html
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I just hope the people of NI get government services they need which have sometimes been lacking recently.
In the past the British NHS and access to free third level education would have been issues that both communities saw as losses they were not prepared to accept for a united ireland. This has become less and less relevant. Which is not something that I take any pleasure in at all.
Brexit was a slam dunk open goal run in try for NI if treated as an opportunity for economic growth rather than for ideological, sectarian purity. They could have become a perfect investor zone and used the EU’s inherent anti conflict ideology as a way to bridge the two zones. They still can to some extent if the new executive delivers quickly. That said the unelected operatives driving much of DUP rhetoric over the last couple of years makes that difficult.
Which is a grimly ironic reversal of how we normally frame NI political parties.
ETA “run in try” is the rugby equivalent of “open goal” in soccer and I wanted to add it in there as the sport is all island Ireland rather than the post colonial states. As it happens it is typically associated with unionism and it is also currently really successful in modern Ireland which made it irresistible as a metaphor. That Ulster Rugby, the historically most successful province, is the one currently underperforming in this success story made it unavoidable.
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The DUP has for years been an example of “the tyranny of the minority” as their bribed voting pact with Theresa May helped support a hard Brexit they clearly didn’t understand the implications of. Then they threw their toys out of the pram when broadly rejected at the ballot box twice, causing years of stagnation at the Stormont devolved parliament.
The DUP are massive bigots and deservedly unpopular. The people of NI would be better off to unite with Eire and be an EU nation. I don’t think most people in the mainland of Great Britain would object. And frankly if we did, it’s not our business anyway.
Good luck to the new first minister.
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This is somewhat misleading and the post should be updated. The positions of First Minister and Deputy First Minister have equal power. One of them is held by a nationalist politician and one by a unionist. Michelle O’Neill was previously Deputy First Minister. The only difference is the title. She doesn’t “lead Northern Ireland” she co-leads it with the head of the DUP and there is a joint decision making process which reflect the unique circumstances in Northern Ireland.
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That bit’s a bit off. SF don’t have a majority- they’re just the largest party in the assembly, and the government is a mandatory coalition of the largest parties, and must be formed on a cross-community basis, including both unionists and Nationalists. This cross-community requirement is also why the DUP managed to collapse the whole thing for the last two years, as nothing functions if one “side” refuses to cooperate.
Incidentally, a major part in how we got here, with the largest unionist party being smaller than SF, is the rise in people voting for non-aligned parties which declare as neither nationalist nor unionist, such as the Alliance Party,
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