The Democratic Unionist Party, Northern Ireland’s main Protestant party and one of its biggest political powers, said on Tuesday it was ready to return to power-sharing after nearly two years of boycotts paralyzed regional decision-making. He said that there is.
Geoffrey Donaldson, leader of the party known as the DUP, told a news conference after an internal party meeting that lasted into the early hours of the morning that he was tasked with supporting a new deal negotiated with the British government. Political party returning to Northern Ireland’s Governing Assembly.
Mr Donaldson said: “Over the coming period we will work with others to build a strong and prosperous Northern Ireland within the Union for this generation and generations to come.” But he added that any return to power-sharing would be conditional on the UK government legislating a series of new measures that have not yet been announced.
The announcement by the DUP, which represents those who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, comes not only from many voters frustrated by the political deadlock, but also from both the British and Irish governments who have been putting pressure on the Irish government. The government will also welcome it. A party to end the stalemate.
But it could also portend a major change in the territory’s history, with Irish nationalist party Sinn Féin potentially taking on the most senior political role of “prime minister” rather than “deputy prime minister” for the first time. be.
Sinn Féin is committed to a united Ireland idea, in which Northern Ireland would join the Republic of Ireland rather than remain part of the United Kingdom.
The breakthrough comes after months of tense discussions between the DUP and the UK government aimed at bringing unionists back to Stormont (Northern Ireland’s parliament in Belfast). Stormont is Northern Ireland’s parliament in Belfast, which was created as part of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of sectarian violence in the region. trouble.
Stormont cannot operate without the participation of the territory’s two main political parties, representing the unionists, who are mainly Protestant, and the nationalists, who are mainly Roman Catholic.
The DUP left the EU in February 2022 in protest of post-Brexit trade rules, but civil servants have continued to maintain basic government functions ever since.
But any bigger decision would require Mr Stormont’s approval, with Mr Donaldson calling for an end to the boycott not only from the British and Irish governments but also from voters in Northern Ireland, where services such as health care are under severe pressure. The pressure is increasing. .
Tens of thousands of people took part in the biggest strike in recent memory this month as public sector workers walked out in protest over pay that lags behind that of colleagues in other parts of the UK due to political deadlock. .
In December, the British government offered Northern Ireland an extra £3.3 billion on the condition that the DUP returned to Stormont.
But Mr Donaldson is also under pressure from hardliners within his own party to remain firm, and his decision to return to power could put him at odds with them.
In May 2022, Sinn Féin overtook the DUP in the parliamentary elections to become Northern Ireland’s largest party. A few months ago, the DUP withdrew from power sharing in protest against post-Brexit trade rules that would impose checks on some British goods entering Northern Ireland.
Unionists say these restrictions, set out in a deal called the Northern Ireland Protocol, will drive a wedge between the territory of Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and urge the British government to implement them. I asked him to withdraw it.
In 2023, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struck a new deal with the European Union, known as the Windsor Framework Agreement, and wrested some concessions from Brussels.But they weren’t enough for the DUP
New negotiations with the British government in London appear to have resolved the party’s reservations, paving the way for an end to almost two years of administrative deadlock.
While many will welcome the prospect of restoring power-sharing, any deal would still be a risk for Mr Donaldson, as hardline unionist critics oppose any compromise.
One of them, Jim Allister, leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice party, said on Monday that his cause was in trouble. “Decisive moment” He called on the DUP not to agree to a post-Brexit trade deal. “That is the point of no return, because it would mean accepting that Northern Ireland would no longer be fully part of the United Kingdom,” he told reporters.