World

Hillary Clinton: Political stalemate at Stormont is worrying

Clinton referenced a children’s book she wrote way back in 1996.
Clinton referenced a children’s book she wrote way back in 1996. Clinton referenced a children’s book she wrote way back in 1996.

FORMER US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed concern over the political stalemate in the power-sharing institutions.

Ms Clinton said she did not want to see the gains of the peace process at Stormont lost.

In an interview with RTÉ at her home in Chappaqua, upstate New York, the former US First Lady said: "I am a little worried right now, to be very candid with you.

"I am listening to and hearing reports about the loggerheads people find themselves at.

"There has just been so much progress, I don't want to see it lost."

Ms Clinton also spoke of working with and supporting the late Martin McGuinness and others across the sectarian divide in the north when she was First Lady and later as a senator and secretary of state in the Barack Obama administration.

Mr McGuinness described her as one of the "best friends" the island of Ireland has ever had.

"I had the opportunity to work with Martin and so many others on both sides of the sectarian divide in the north and we forged a personal relationship," Mrs Clinton said.

"So when I was a First Lady and a senator, I tried to be supportive in every way I could and when I was secretary of state I made it a point to continue that support in an official capacity because I didn't want the progress that had been made to be lost."

Ms Clinton said she and her husband Bill remain very committed to helping the peace process succeed.

"Both my husband and I are extraordinarily interested in and devoted to the future of the island," she said.

"What we have tried to do in both our public and our personal capacities has been to encourage, certainly, the peace process in the north but also to enjoy the friendships that we have developed.

"It has been an absolute privilege to be in some small way involved in everything that is going on."

The interview was recorded last week and airs onThe Late Late Show tomorrow.

Ms Clinton also discussed the blame she attaches to herself for her failure to defeat President Donald Trump in last year's race to the White House, double standards applied to women in politics, and what she intends to do after stepping away from electoral politics.