The precedent is that the Democratic Unionist Party, the largest pro-British Protestant political force, conditionally agreed to restore self-government in Northern Ireland, which has been inactive for nearly two years.
The multi-denominational Belfast municipality formed by the anti-British, pro-Crown Catholic and Protestant parties has been out of work since February 2022. The main reason for this is that the radically eurosceptic Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has not accepted the Northern Ireland clause in the agreement setting the terms of Britain's exit from the European Union. .
Mary Lou McDonaldThe leader of Sinn Féin in both Ireland and Northern Ireland said
From a historical perspective, a united Ireland is “out of reach”,
Achieving this is one of the party's main goals.
Already after the 2022 elections, Sinn Féin has indicated that a referendum on the unification of the island of Ireland, which was divided in 1921, should be on the agenda.
If the agreement can be implemented, the Vice-President of Sinn Féin and Leader of Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill He may have been the first Minister of Northern Ireland, making him the first Irish Catholic leader of a territory of the United Kingdom.
Sir Geoffrey DonaldsonThe DUP leader said in a press conference on Monday that the agreement could be the basis for renewed autonomy in Northern Ireland, but the DUP is still demanding that the British government provide more legal guarantees to protect the union of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and that companies in Northern Ireland have unhindered access to markets in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Cover photo: Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O'Neill. Credit: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
