The counting of votes continued on Saturday, and the complex electoral system in force in Northern Ireland could still create some surprises, but on Friday evening, the British press took for granted a historic victory for Sinn Féin.
A result “which reverses more than a century of Unionist and Protestant majority in Northern Ireland, since the province was created in 1921 and separated from Southern Ireland, independent and mainly Catholic”observe the Daily Telegraph.
But the victory of Sinn Féin “would cast uncertainty on the power-sharing agreement”the DUP unionists having warned that they could refuse to take part in the government, “and would complicate discussions on post-Brexit border control negotiations”judges the conservative daily.
Le New York Times remarks for his part that a “nationalist party at the head of Northern Ireland will raise new hopes for Irish unity, but could also lead to a return of unrest between Catholics and Protestants in a province where delicate power-sharing agreements have helped to maintain the peace for more than twenty years”.
Under the Good Friday agreements, signed in 1998 to put an end to thirty years of “troubles” in Northern Ireland, power in the province is shared equally between unionists and nationalists. The post of Prime Minister goes to the formation which has the most seats in the Local Assembly, and the post of Deputy Prime Minister to the second formation.
Symbol
If the nationalist victory is confirmed, it is the vice-president of Sinn Féin and current Deputy Prime Minister, Michelle O’Neill, who would become Prime Minister.
“In fact, the positions of Prime and Deputy Prime Minister are one. They are the two heads of government, they exercise their functions jointly and one cannot exist without the other”Explain RTÉ.
More “symbolically”that’s another matter: “a Nationalist Prime Minister would be an earthquake, both a historic political breakthrough for the Nationalists and a psychological setback for the Unionists”analyzes Irish broadcasting.
Jon Tonge, professor of political science at the University of Liverpool, recalls in the columns of the Guardian than Northern Ireland “was created on the very basis of a Unionist majority”hence the truly historic character of the Sinn Féin victory.
“A party which does not want Northern Ireland to exist, and which goes so far as to refuse to use the term Northern Ireland, will become the primary political force in the province”he said. “This is another step on the long road to Irish unity”.
Paralysis
Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald, quoted by The Irish Timessaid shortly after the publication of the first results that he was not “not just symbolic” that Northern Ireland is “apparently on point” to entrust the post of Prime Minister to the nationalist party. “It’s also important because it’s a moment of equality. This means that no position is out of reach, for anyone”.
Observers point out that Sinn Féin has campaigned on the day-to-day hardships of Irish people, including the rising cost of living and healthcare, pushing its reunification ambitions to the back burner. The Unionists of the DUP, on the other hand, focused on the “protocole post-Brexit”which introduced control of goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
This protocol, which the DUP is fiercely opposed to – but which it was unable to prevent while in power – could now cause an institutional blockage, fears The Irish Independent.
“DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has warned that his party will not participate in government and make (Michelle O’Neill) Prime Minister, unless changes are made to the protocol”writes the daily.
“If we don’t make progress on this, I have made it clear that I will not appoint any ministers to the government”, said Donaldson. A decision that would flout the Good Friday agreements and de facto paralyze the executive.