Michelle O’Neil becomes the first nationalist First Minister in Northern Ireland
MPs have approved the government's plan to revive the power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland, with Stormont now headed by the nationalist party Sinn Féin for the first time.
Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill will become Northern Ireland's first nationalist first minister when the power-sharing government is restored this weekend.
https://news.sky.com/story/michelle-oneill-why-northern-irelands-new-first-minister-is-hugely-symbolic-13061972
Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill will become Northern Ireland's first nationalist first minister when the power-sharing government is restored this weekend.
https://news.sky.com/story/michelle-oneill-why-northern-irelands-new-first-minister-is-hugely-symbolic-13061972
It's good to see government back because public services have been struggling for lack of ministerial direction.
Of course the actual appointment is more symbolic than anything else – the FM and deputy FM are joint heads of government and will continue to be.
Of course the actual appointment is more symbolic than anything else – the FM and deputy FM are joint heads of government and will continue to be.
It's definitely good to see NI having a government back to drive things along. I can't help but wonder what this might mean for the country and the United Kingdom as a whole though.
Original post by CatusStarbright
It's definitely good to see NI having a government back to drive things along. I can't help but wonder what this might mean for the country and the United Kingdom as a whole though.
Very little, quite frankly. First Minister vs Deputy First Minister is just a difference of title, they have the exact same powers, so O'Neill's actual power hasn't changed since she was DFM. And despite a Nationalist party now being the largest single party, Unionists overall still slightly outnumber Nationalists in the Assembly (and won marginally more votes at the last election). Both British and Irish governments have said they don't see unification happening any time soon.
Original post by anarchism101
Very little, quite frankly. First Minister vs Deputy First Minister is just a difference of title, they have the exact same powers, so O'Neill's actual power hasn't changed since she was DFM. And despite a Nationalist party now being the largest single party, Unionists overall still slightly outnumber Nationalists in the Assembly (and won marginally more votes at the last election). Both British and Irish governments have said they don't see unification happening any time soon.
Arguably it's quite significant for NI to have a government back after two years without one! It'll certainly take the pressure of the senior civil servant who have been keeping the government departments running all this time.
Original post by CatusStarbright
Arguably it's quite significant for NI to have a government back after two years without one! It'll certainly take the pressure of the senior civil servant who have been keeping the government departments running all this time.
Oh, certainly. And it means NI public services might actually get funded properly, which is obviously positive. But in terms of "what it means for the wider UK", really not much.
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