Opinion

Jeffrey Donaldson's unenviable position

When Boris Johnson came to power in July, 2019, there were clear indications that he could be the British prime minister who precipitated the final break-up of the union.

Mr Johnson has subsequently antagonised ordinary Irish, Scottish and increasingly Welsh citizens to an extent that such an outcome has never been closer.

The English nationalists who formed the bedrock of his support have largely displayed complete indifference to this prospect, but the devastating weekend resignation of his Brexit minister David Frost is confirmation of the crisis he faces.

It should be obvious that for many reasons Mr Johnson was never cut out to be a prime minister in the first place, and a leadership challenge which is likely to finish his career cannot be long delayed.

His mishandling of every aspect of the pandemic has been painful to watch, and it would be surprising if the loss of one of the Conservative Party’s safest seats during last week's dramatic by-election in North Shropshire did not finish his career in the near future.

However, regardless of Mr Johnson's fate, the Brexit debacle and its associated calamities have set in motion a series of events which is only going to take us in one direction.

The DUP leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, completely misread the wider picture last September when he suggested the DUP might bring down our power-sharing structures `within weeks' if his demands over the protocol, which relied heavily on the backing of Mr Frost, were not met.

It has been widely noted that Saturday marked 100 days since Mr Donaldson’s intervention, with no developments of any consequence following, leaving his credibility under considerable strain as a result as influential business figures have emphasised the opportunities which the protocol brings.

Mr Donaldson could still order his MLAs to walk out of Stormont, but he must know how such an irresponsible move would be received by the electorate in the middle of the greatest public health crisis in living memory.

He is in this unenviable position because his party foolishly placed its trust in Mr Johnson, and Mr Donaldson must surely be aware that the absence of devolution could only concentrate all significant debate on the preparations for a border poll.

Mr Johnson may not be in Downing Street much longer but his legacy could yet be deeply significant for nationalism on both sides of the Irish Sea.