Designated head of government
O’Neill: Election is historic day for Northern Ireland
After exactly two years, Northern Ireland should have a functioning government again. photo
© Liam Mcburney/PA Wire/dpa
There has never been a female politician at the head of the Northern Irish regional government, which actually wants to dissolve the British territory. That is likely to change now.
A few hours before her expected election, Northern Ireland’s designated head of government Michelle O’Neill stressed the importance of voting. “This is a historic day,” wrote the politician from the Catholic Republican party Sinn Fein on Saturday on the online platform X (formerly Twitter). “It’s about the future.” It’s about working together for the good of all people in the British province. The 47-year-old O’Neill emphasized that she wanted to be a head of government for everyone.
O’Neill was to be elected head of government in the regional parliament in Belfast on Saturday – as the first Catholic and republican in the history of Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein is seeking reunification with EU member Ireland. In the 2022 regional elections, the party became the strongest party in the former civil war region for the first time. However, it must enter into a coalition with the main Protestant Unionist party DUP, which is entitled to the equal position of deputy head of government.
The vote in Belfast ends a two-year political crisis. The DUP refused to participate in government in protest against special Brexit rules for Northern Ireland. She argued that the agreement reached with the EU endangers the union of Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The party recently agreed with the British central government on a document that emphasized state unity and then gave up its opposition.
Posted by O’Neill on X