For the first time in the history of Northern Ireland, a Prime Minister from a nationalist party was sworn in this Saturday. Until now, the country has always been governed by unionist politicians, eleven in a row, but since this Saturday it is Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin who can call herself Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
The installation of a new government ends a two-year impasse in Northern Irish politics, which arose because the Democratic Union Party (DUP) turned against the Brexit agreements. Earlier this week, the DUP dropped its objections to the trade agreements in the Brexit agreement, after new agreements had been made with the British government.
These agreements should allay concerns that the pro-British DUP had about the free movement of goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom after Brexit. Since the UK left Europe, there has been a de facto border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, also because a land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland had proven to be unnegotiable. Because this would distance Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, the DUP left the government two years ago.
Massive protests
Sinn Féin won the elections shortly afterwards, but the country proved ungovernable due to the DUP’s refusal. Northern Ireland must – as stated in the so-called Good Friday Agreements of 1998 – be governed by both a unionist and a nationalist party. If one of the two parties refuses to do so, there is de facto no government. That balance of power followed a decades-long period of bloody struggle between the unionists and nationalists.
This week’s agreement, which followed mass protests last month by the people of Northern Ireland, cleared the way for the DUP to take government responsibility again. Because Sinn Féin became the largest at the last election, it is now the turn of the nationalists to provide a prime minister for the first time since the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921. “This is a historic day,” said 47-year-old O’Neill Saturday on X. “As Prime Minister for All, I am committed to creating positive change for all and working with others to move our society forward in a spirit of respect, cooperation and equality.”
Paradoxically, this gives Northern Ireland a Prime Minister who would actually prefer to deny the existence of Northern Ireland. Nationalists have been calling for Northern Ireland to be merged with the rest of the island for decades. The DUP will be allowed to provide the deputy prime minister, in accordance with the agreements on the distribution of power in Northern Ireland. Formally, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister are equals, but the appointment of O’Neill as the first nationalist Prime Minister of Northern Ireland is seen as an important symbolic moment.
Once a government is in place, the flow of money from London to Northern Ireland can also restart. The country was deprived of financial support for a long time due to the government crisis, which caused serious problems for healthcare and education, among other things. The erosion of public services was partly the reason for the massive protest last month.