Northern Ireland: Michelle O'Neill becomes the first Republican head of government
The leader of Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, officially became the first republican local government leader on Saturday, that is to say in favor of the unification of Ireland, a historic turning point in the British province with a past marked by three decades of bloody conflict.
The new Northern Irish Prime Minister Michelle O'Neill, from the Republican camp favorable to the unification of Ireland, during her speech to the Northern Irish Assembly on February 2, 2024 at Stormont. © PAUL FAITH / AFP
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Michelle O'Neill was nominated by the Stormont Parliament in Belfast,
which restarted after two years of deadlock
linked to unionist discontent over post-Brexit trade arrangements. Under the terms of co-governance resulting from the 1998 peace agreements, the unionist Emma Little-Pengelly (committed to maintaining Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom) was chosen as Deputy Prime Minister.
Michelle O'Neill hailed Saturday as "
a historic day
" and "
a new era
" for the British province with a bloody past after becoming the first Republican in this position. “
This is a historic day and it represents a new era
,” declared Michelle O'Neill, speaking before the Local Assembly which had just appointed her to her post in Belfast, noting that it would have been “
unimaginable for generation of [his] parents
” that a nationalist heads the local executive.
In 2022, the Prime Minister brought Sinn Fein, the former political arm of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) paramilitary group, to the top, which won local elections, something never seen before in Northern Ireland. This blonde woman with infectious energy, who entered politics more than 25 years ago, grew up surrounded by fervent Republicans. His father, a roofer, was a prisoner of the IRA before being a local Sinn Féin elected official. One of his cousins, a member of the IRA, was killed in 1991 in a British army ambush.
She won the election by highlighting everyday issues, such as improving health services in Northern Ireland. She is particularly appreciated by young people for her left-wing ideas, compared to unionists with conservative positions on subjects such as abortion. It has pushed Sinn Fein's historic objective, the reunification of Ireland, into the background.
(With
AFP
)
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