‘Arlene must go’ says SF as clock ticks on deal for power-sharing
Just three weeks for parties to cut a deal
THERE were calls last night to extend a three-week deadline to form a government in Northern Ireland after Sinn Féin reiterated its stance that it will not serve under the DUP’s Arlene Foster as First Minister.
Sinn Féin made spectacular gains in Friday’s Assembly elections, winning 27 seats to the Democratic Unionist Party’s 28. The DUP previously had 10 seats more than Sinn Féin.
With the nationalist SDLP doing well and the Ulster Unionist Party tanking, the Nationalists were claiming an historic victory.
The unionist veto in the Assembly is now gone, meaning that gay marriage and other liberal policies could now be passed. Until now the evangelical wing in the DUP stopped them.
However, this will all be moot if Sinn Féin and the DUP cannot agree on a power-sharing agreement within the three-week timescale imposed by UK’s Secretary of State, James Brokenshire. If that deadline is not met, Mr Brokenshire will call another election.
His predecessor as Northern Ireland secretary, Theresa Villiers, said yesterday that the political parties should be given more than three weeks to agree.
Efforts to form a new administration will begin tomorrow.
Ms Villiers said: ‘The law at the moment requires a fresh election after three weeks if there is no coalition formed. I think it will be important for the Secretary of State to have legislation ready to give the parties more time.
‘It would be a pity if they were launched back into yet another election just after three weeks.’
Arlene Foster remains safe as DUP leader, despite its disappointing performance, MP Jeffrey Donaldson said. Ms Foster’s connection to an environmental scandal, known as ‘cash for ash’, led to the downfall of the previous powersharing administration only 10 months after the 2016 election.
Sinn Féin wants her to step aside while there is an inquiry.
Her DUP colleague said there was no question over Ms Foster’s future and that she would be back to take the lead at Stormont.
Mr Donaldson said that despite the bruising result the DUP was still the largest party and its focus now ‘is on Arlene and the party getting a government up and running again at Stormont’.
Sinn Féin’s leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill, has said a ‘big job lies ahead’ in terms of getting Stormont going again.
‘We have to go in there wanting to find a way forward. But we have to have fundamental change from the DUP,’ she said.
‘There is a hard road in front of us in the next three weeks but Sinn Féin is coming at it trying to find a way forward.’
If agreement cannot be reached in that time, then, under the law, another election will be called.
But Mr Donaldson warned: ‘If we can’t get a government formed within three weeks, I don’t think the Westminster government will allow another election. I think they will introduce direct rule.’
Just 1,168 first preference votes separated the DUP and Sinn Féin and, for the first time, unionists will not have an overall majority at Stormont.
The UUP leader Mike Nesbitt said that he would resign.
It was a positive campaign for both the SDLP and Alliance, who both maintained their levels.
It’d be a pity to have an election in 3 weeks’ time