After their historic victory in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Sinn Féin Republicans on Monday called on Unionists to “respect the democratic outcome” of the election and form a government, refusing to be “held hostage” by Brexit tensions.
The first place obtained Thursday by the party favorable to a reunification of the British province with the Republic of Ireland, formerly the political wing of the paramilitaries of the IRA, puts it in a position to lead the local executive, supposed to be shared with the unionists committed to remaining within the British crown, under the 1998 peace agreement.
But the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), hitherto dominant, has conditioned its participation on the resolution of the thorny question of post-Brexit special status, which according to him cuts the province off from the rest of the United Kingdom. It is paralysis that now threatens, like the risk that the fragile governance of the nation bereaved by three decades of “Troubles” between Republicans, especially Catholics, and Unionists, mainly Protestants, will shatter.
“My message is clear: as democrats, the [parti unioniste] DUP but also the British government must accept and respect the democratic outcome of this election, ”said Michelle O’Neill, the leader of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland, supposed to become Prime Minister.
“I believe in the formation of an effective executive today,” she insisted. “There should be no postponement. There is no reason for a postponement. »
At the heart of political tensions in the province since Brexit, in force since last year: the Northern Irish protocol negotiated between London and Brussels, which introduces controls on goods from Great Britain, is denounced by unionists as a threat to Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom.
The DUP also fears that the border in the Irish Sea that it introduces in fact according to them goes in the direction of a reunification of the island of Ireland.
“Lower the tone”
“There are things in the protocol that could be relaxed to allow for a smoother set-up. We have always been for. But I don’t support the DUP’s approach of taking society hostage,” Michelle O’Neill said.
Sent to Belfast, the British minister responsible for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, called on the province’s political parties to “fulfill their responsibilities” and form a government “as soon as possible”, without convincing the DUP.
“This is the position we had before the election, during the campaign and which we continue to have: until the UK government takes action on the Northern Irish protocol, we will not appoint ministers to the government. “, repeated Monday the leader of the unionists, Jeffrey Donaldson.
London has been seeking for months to renegotiate the protocol with Brussels, without significant progress for the moment, and has threatened on several occasions to unilaterally suspend certain provisions for lack of agreement.
“We have to deal with the outstanding issues relating to the Northern Ireland protocol and want to do this via an agreement with the European Union, but we have always been clear, we will not hesitate to take further action if necessary,” repeated Mr. Lewis.
In Dublin, the Irish Prime Minister, Micheal Martin, gave his support to Brussels in the discussions on the application of the protocol. “I believe that the European Union has shown flexibility”, but “every time” it has done so so far, “it has not been reciprocated”, he told the channel. public RTE.
European Commission Vice-President in charge of the dossier, Maros Sefcovic, called on the British government to “keep your voice down, be honest about the agreement he signed and accept solutions within this framework “.
In February, the DUP had brought down the head of the Northern Irish executive with the resignation of Prime Minister Paul Givan, to mark the opposition of the party – favorable to Brexit in a province which voted against – in the face of the protocol.
The customs system introduced by the protocol aims to avoid the return of a physical border between the province and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the European Union.