Opinion

Deaglán de Bréadún: After a bruising election, the DUP and Sinn Féin need to get power-sharing done

Ian Knox cartoon 14/12/19 
Ian Knox cartoon 14/12/19  Ian Knox cartoon 14/12/19 

One of the secrets of Boris Johnson’s success is that he can be quite entertaining at times which is not a description you would have applied to Jeremy Corbyn, whatever his other attributes.

I am thinking in particular of the campaign video based on the film Love Actually, where the British prime minister unveiled a series of placards carrying slogans about Brexit to a woman who pretended to her husband/partner that there were carol-singers at the front door.

Maybe someone should make a similar approach to party leaders in Northern Ireland. Knock on Arlene Foster’s door (she’s still in the job at time of writing) and display a set of cardboard messages like: “Your days of influence at Westminster are over; Your best chance of exercising power is here at home; Cut a deal with the Shinners or you’ll be consigned to the dustbin of history!”

A similar visit could be paid to Michelle O’Neill’s place of residence, although the wording on the placards would be: “Pulling down the Executive wasn’t a good idea; You’ve been twiddling your thumbs on the side-lines for too long; If your party won’t occupy their seats at Westminster, at least take them in Stormont!”

If the parties can’t agree to restore the power-sharing Executive by January 13, then we are due to have another outing at the ballot-box in the north. That doesn’t sound like a good option for politicians at the moment. If you are a member of the current Assembly at ‘Dormant Stormont’ you will be knocking on people’s doors seeking their vote to return you to a job you have not done properly for three years. Don’t expect a warm welcome.

And if you are a first-time candidate, you will be seeking election to a position where nothing gets done – except perhaps bread-and-butter constituency work. That will not give you the opportunity to fulfil your dream of standing up in the Assembly to deliver an oration that gets you known as Stormont’s answer to Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King or climate activist Greta Thunberg. You can of course promise voters to make every effort to restore the power-sharing Executive, but what credibility will you have if it couldn’t be done in the last three years? What “X Factor” have you got that the existing MLA’s don’t possess?

Parallels are being drawn between the current situation in the United Kingdom and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the First World War. Austria-Hungary was also a multinational state and a major power. Its rulers made a fatal mistake when they took the losing side in the Great War, just as it could be suggested Britain made a gross error in voting for Brexit. Scottish nationalism is flourishing and, here at home, the future of the island and a border poll are hot topics.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds is embraced by party leader Arlene Foster after losing the Belfast North seat at the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA
DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds is embraced by party leader Arlene Foster after losing the Belfast North seat at the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds is embraced by party leader Arlene Foster after losing the Belfast North seat at the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA

In the Irish context, sensible and even sensitive leadership is required. The Democratic Unionist Party may need to rethink its position on Brexit. If Boris Johnson’s agreement with Brussels is going to weaken the Union by creating a trade and regulatory border down the Irish Sea, then it might be wise for the DUP to move into the Remain camp and demand a second referendum.

John Finucane scored a major win over the DUP’s Nigel Dodds in North Belfast but Sinn Féin’s massive defeat by 17,110 votes at the hands of SDLP leader Colum Eastwood in Foyle must give the republicans serious food for thought on issues such as . . . abstentionism from Westminster?

Elections are interesting and even enjoyable but now we face the less-entertaining prospect of inter-party talks on restoring the Executive. It’s like switching from the Grand Prix at Silverstone to observing a slow bicycle-race.

As an Irish-speaker myself, I would obviously support due legal recognition for the “sweet and kingly tongue of the Gael”.

However, care must be taken to ensure that the demand for an Irish Language Act does not end up being portrayed as obstructing moves to resolve the crisis in the health sector. Creative thinking as well as an imaginative approach are called for and, of course, the devil will be in the detail. The parties might even adopt a Boris-like motto for their negotiations: ‘Let’s get power-sharing done!’

Ddebre1@aol.com