- Title: Acrimonious election deepens Northern Ireland deadlock
- Date: 27th February 2017
- Summary: SINN FEIN CAMPAIGN CAR WITH IRISH FLAGS DRIVING THROUGH STREET DURING ANTI-BREXIT ELECTION CAMPAIGN PICKET LINE IN ROAD
- Embargoed: 13th March 2017 15:34
- Keywords: Northern Ireland election DUP Arlene Foster Sinn Fein Gerry Adams Northern Ireland assembly devolved power Brexit
- Location: BELFAST AND OMAGH AND PORTADOWN AND JONESBOROUGH, NORTHERN IRELAND, UK
- City: BELFAST AND OMAGH AND PORTADOWN AND JONESBOROUGH, NORTHERN IRELAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA00365APJD3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Acrimonious campaigning ahead of Thursday (March 2) snap elections in Northern Ireland has increased antagonism between pro-British unionists and Irish nationalists and exacerbated fears devolved power may revert to London for the first time in a decade.
The power-sharing government collapsed in January after Sinn Fein nationalists withdrew support for Democratic Unionist Party First Minister Arlene Foster after she refused to step aside during an inquiry into a scandal around heating subsidies.
"Fundamentally I want devolution back up and running but I need a partner to do that with and it's whether Sinn Fein wants to move ahead and start building again or whether they want to pursue their own narrow political agenda," Foster told Reuters.
Many see the rift as a symptom of a deeper split in the British province between nationalists, balking at the prospect of border posts going up with Ireland after Britain's exit from the European Union, and Unionists who fear a new push for a united Ireland.
Foster accused the Irish nationalists of forcing the province towards a return to rule from London.
"Sinn Fein seems to be saying if they don't get what they want then they are prepared to live with direct rule. They really should be truthful with their people about what that means," she said, adding that Northern Ireland's growing economy would be put at risk.
"I think we will lose that if we have direct rule and that is really dangerous," said Foster.
Sinn Fein's President Gerry Adams told Reuters that his party's leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill would not enter into a power-sharing government until the corruption scandal is resolved.
"What we are not going to do is to prop up an arrangement which only works for a very small percent of the citizens here," he said on the sidelines of a protest against Brexit.
He denied Sinn Fein's red lines would push the province towards direct rule from London.
"British rule? We are united Irelanders, we want to see an end to British rule, we want to see an end to partition."
While no one predicts a return to the violence that killed 3,600 people in the three decades before a 1998 peace deal, some forecast a setback in community relations and government paralysis which could weaken the province's voice in Brexit talks which will determine its political and economic future.
Despite pleas from Dublin and London to avoid a further souring of relations, the two parties have used the campaign to rally their sectarian bases.
Sinn Fein has warned of DUP "arrogance and contempt" towards Catholic nationalists and said on posters that Sinn Fein is the only option for those who "really want an Irish Republic."
While the return of Northern Ireland's 1.8 million people to direct rule from London has long been anathema to Irish nationalists, some commentators have noted that this could deprive the DUP of a voice during Brexit negotiations while Sinn Fein can use the Irish government to lobby its interests.
"It is going to affect every single town and village and city across the entirety of Ireland. Arguably its effect will be most felt in the border counties, but let's have no doubt about this, this is going to be catastrophic for the entire island and that is why we are arguing for a single designated status for the North within the European Union," said Adams.
Under the peace deal, elections lead to coalition talks between the largest unionist and nationalist parties - almost certainly the DUP followed by Sinn Fein.
After decades of politics being dominated by sectarianism, these elections, sparked by allegations of corruption and arguments over policy, are providing a litmus test for the fledgling devolved power.
"It is offering a chance for voters to reflect, the chance for voters to decide and it is actually offering voters a choice and those are very real, key positive ingredients of a functioning democracy. So in a way the snap election and against the background of a very tumultuous debate around Brexit we can see that this election offers us a very real chance for democracy to improve and transform what the political landscape looks like in Northern Ireland," said Maire (pron: Myra) Braniff, Direct of Ulster University's Conflict Research Institute.
Despite Foster calling the election the most important since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, many voters say they are fed up with sectarian bickering and plan to stay at home in a province where turnout has fallen at each of the last four elections to the lowest level among the United Kingdom regions.
"This year I can't consciously vote for anybody. I find it really, really hard to find a party to vote for because everybody is just doing my head in to be perfectly honest," said Katie Smith. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: Audio restrictions: This clip's Audio includes copyrighted material. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing the audio contained in this clip.