The Democratic Unionist Party, the main Protestant party in Northern Ireland and one of its biggest political forces, announced on Tuesday that it was prepared to resume power sharing after a nearly two-year boycott that had paralyzed decision-making in the region. After an internal meeting that stretched into the early morning, Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the party, known as the D.U.P., said at a news conference that he had been mandated to support a new deal, negotiated with the British government, that would allow his party to return to Northern Ireland’s governing assembly. The return to power sharing was conditional on the British government’s legislating to enshrine a new set of measures that had not yet been made public. The announcement from the D.U.P., which represents those who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, will be welcomed by many voters frustrated by the political stalemate, as well as by the British and Irish governments, which have both put pressure on the party to end the deadlock. But it could also herald a seismic shift in the territory’s history, opening the door for Sinn Fein, the Irish nationalist party, to hold for the first time the most senior political role of “first minister” rather than “deputy first minister.” Sinn Fein is committed to the idea of a united Ireland, in which Northern Ireland would join the Republic of Ireland, rather than remain part of the United Kingdom. The breakthrough followed months of tense discussion between the D.U.P. and the British government aimed at bringing the unionists back into Stormont, the Northern Ireland assembly in Belfast that was launched as part of the Good Friday agreement that ended the region’s decades of sectarian violence, known as the Troubles. Stormont cannot operate without the participation of the territory’s two leading parties, representing unionists, who are mainly Protestants, and nationalists, who are largely Roman Catholics. The D.U.P. walked out in February 2022 in protest of post-Brexit trade rules, and since then, civil servants have kept the basic functions of government running. But bigger decisions require the approval of Stormont, and Mr. Donaldson has been under growing pressure to end the boycott, not just from the British and Irish governments, but also from voters in Northern Ireland, where services including health care have been under acute pressure. This month, tens of thousands of people took part in the biggest strikes in recent memory, as public-sector workers walked out in protest over their pay, which has lagged that of colleagues in the rest of the United Kingdom because of the political gridlock. In December, the British government offered an additional 3.3 billion pounds for Northern Ireland on the condition…
2024-01-29 21:23:33
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