With the leader of the main Unionist party applauding speeches calling the GFA 'iniquitous' and 'deceit' are the upcoming elections a test for the seminal agreement?
It's hard to know what will happen if the DUP manage to get their vote out and maintain the majority vote.
Those days are over but it seems you want to talk of the past... Today is first day of new game... There is alot of meetings today so i am hopeful they will find a place where the assembly up and running... The DUP need to be manouvered to work with SF... This i expect what happening in Belfast today...
Why not?
There are extremists and fanatics on both sides, most people in the middle are fed up with both of them.
He asks about Northern Ireland staying as is, and you revert to the history books back to the 1960s. All so sadly predictable.
Nope, I was referencing the DUP supremacism and bullying and denial of rights since the GFA, you know when FG were inviting them to and applauding them at their annual conference?
I suspect they are pining for those heady days blanch when the DUP were not going as far as to raising tensions to the point one of their ministers was attacked and death threats were issued to their leader.
The current path of Northern Ireland is towards those fanatics on either side dying out as the middle grows in size.
And how is the first day going so far?
Only ‘one side’ is standing in the way of rights and further normalisation.
The side feted at FG conferences. But hopefully they have ‘ learned the lesson’ on that. They are great at the lessons learned.
I expect the UK Government fed up with them all... to admit we have extremist is a big statement and needs to be addressed by us all... its closer than we all think...
I expect you closer to the action than alot of us here... hopefully we will have an idea tonight how the teams are shaping up...
Yes I can see the logic in that but SF are riding two horses in this regard - not wanting to see border controls being implemented on the island but also I think, not wanting the NI Protocol solution to be too successful. It's really not at all straightforward. The NI Protocol has to be good for NI business and the plain people of NI if it was enthusiastically embraced by all. That I suspect is deeply frustrating to many. You could have a viable NI devolved entity, less dependent of Westminster monies, where people have a decent standard of living. Bottom line is that many unionists would like that, whilst retaining notional links to the 'mainland'. The DUP have stupidly got themselves in a hole courtesy of their support for Brexit. Given a bit of rope to get out, they might be quite happy to grasp it and row in behind some NI Protocol. And what will the SF policy be then?
I have often thought about this but never thought to ask here.... I often hear the term "warning" from politicians and just now in the times from Coveney... Who is the warning issued to... i can never make sense of this language...
You might explain what you mean a bit more, not all of us have seen what you are talking about.
Sinn Fein have finally accepted that they live in Northern Ireland.
One side as bad as the other. Sure didn't the shinners pull it down over the Irish language act.
The Sinn Fein policy would have to be to continue to accept the Protocol, because there really isn’t any other choice (or rather, there is no other choice that wouldn’t be electorally self-destructive).
I think it is important to bear in mind though, as I’ve mentioned before, that the Protocol is not an economic development policy for NI. So it doesn’t have to be “good” for business, it need only go as far as to do what it was effectively designed to do — mitigate some of the particular and unique risks posed by Brexit for the island of Ireland and protect the the GFA. That’s not to say it won’t be incidentally good for business — it probably will be to some extent at least (though it’s unclear right now whether that extent will be enough to put NI in a better position than it would have been if Brexit never happened, or to overcome NI’s footing as a relatively deprived constitutent of the UK).
There is only so much that Stormont can do in making the Protocol work in an advantageous way for NI. The real power will reside with Westminster.
Mary Lou standing front and centre at the presser and taking questions and giving answers before O'Neill gets a word in. Bad look, imo. They are correct on what they're saying, but I think it should be O'Neill speaking first when it comes to NI matters.
On watching the news i was thinking all politicians except alliance had bad day... Boris clearly won round by default as all parties are blaming UK the peole who are financing the whole gig... SF brought down the assembly over the ash which Michelle was in the middle of... More recently head of DUP resigned over something to do with brexit... How the fcuk can anyone put up with that... Shower of whingers (all of them) i expect its getting noticed... cannot be pleased...
It's an all Ireland matter even if there are those who would rather ignore it. SF showing that they are an all Ireland party and represent not just a northern Irish constituency, is important.
I didn't see it but she should have known better... obviously C4 news editor noticed as just showed 15 secs of MON.... Mary L didn't learn anything from Coveney's gaff...
Well it may be she wants to run in the North... they have a bit of form Gerry legged it south when it was getting hot...
It's very deliberate. MLM'D was at every press opportunity alongside M. O'N after the elections to the Assembly. Unionists and the British are being shown that SF are an all-Ireland political outfit and to get used to it.
They are an all-Ireland party M. Entirely legitimate.
What ;mistake' did Coveney make? He is representative of the guarantors of the GFA...he has every right to be there too and to comment on events. Unionist ire is of no consequence.
I think it was Coveney who was at the SDLP gig that an incident... bad judgement... Mary L. bad gudgment in my view... i had not seen when i posted earlier but it seems C4 skipped her in favour of MON... it will be on C4+1 in the next 15 mins...
What was Coveneys bad judgement?
Senior minister from different political area attending a gig during a time when there was no Government... I always though... what the fcuk is he doing there...
It was only after the election was over i discovered that all parties in South were canvassing in NI election
Yes, FG FF and Lab were up canvassing for the SDLP. You can work out what that was about yourself.
But Coveney as Minister For Foreign Affairs has every right and indeed duty to be there and involved.
But convicted terrorists who were released on licence were referred to on news programmes as having been released early under the GFA.
Yes the GFA established the Sentence Review Commission who met and agreed the releases.
AFAIK the duties of foreign affairs ministed is to represent the country at official Governments in other states... This was not a Government event... Add to that there was not a government in place when event took place... it was a SDLP event and its not purpose of foreign affairs to get involved in party events in other jurisdiction... It failed for him and it failed for SDLP both in this event and the recent election...
So he can't go north to a non government event in a non government role?
No go areas for Irish people in Ireland...ok. Good luck with that.
You said it was one of his official duties... it was not part of his Government brief... People can go where they please...
Bad judgement...
