Northern Ireland. Michelle O’Neill Becomes First Nationalist Prime Minister

Northern Ireland will regain government after a long period of two years without executive powers due to the political stalemate created by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). For the first time since 2017, the position of the Belfast Minister is taken by a nationalist Michelle O’Neill, a Catholic and local leader of Sinn Fein (which means “ourselves” in Gaelic), a political formation that until the recent more democratic approach has historically been the “political wing of the IRA.” This is a historic turning point given that the party’s aim is to reunite the country in Dublin.

The stalemate at Stormont (home to the Northern Ireland parliament) ended after the DUP abandoned its two-year obstructionism by reaching an agreement with the British government on post-Brexit provisions that the party believes will reduce the region’s influence in the United Kingdom. The agreement also includes an extra £3.3 billion for Northern Ireland, as well as new legal guarantees to limit inspections of goods between Belfast and the UK. Sinn Fein won the 2022 election, but failed to govern because the 1998 Good Friday Agreement provides for joint governance between the Nationalists and Unionists.

However, the agreement that broke the deadlock in Northern Ireland could be challenged by Brussels: in practice, control over trade between London and Belfast has been reduced, but this could create problems for the Windsor Framework, that is, the post-Brexit agreement between the UK and the EU, which provides that EU customs duties apply to goods entering Northern Ireland if there is a risk of such goods being placed on the EU single market, while customs duties are not levied on goods that arrive in Northern Ireland to the north of the remaining part of Great Britain and that stay in Belfast.

Returning to the “political” value of Northern Ireland’s new Prime Minister, Sinn Fein Ireland leader Mary Lou McDonald explained that now “uniting Ireland historically is achievable.” In reality, it will not be an easy process, even if there is a referendum option in the Good Friday Agreement. In London, it is particularly feared that Sinn Fein, now in opposition, could win the next Dublin election in 2025.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with Michelle O’Neill today for the first time since taking office, softening his tone. “Our new agreement gives them more funds and powers than ever before to make this workable for families and businesses across Northern Ireland. The priority now is not to change the constitution, but to deliver the day-to-day services that people care about.”