First coalition

And it remains to be seen if the party can get this started quickly. Because the Good Friday Agreement stipulates that the two largest parties – the trade union party and the nationalist party – are obliged to share power and provide a prime minister and deputy prime minister. Therefore, one party must cooperate with the other party.

And the other is DUP – Democratic Union Party, a pro-British Protestant party that suffered heavy losses in this election. Among DUP voters, there is great dissatisfaction with Brexit and the resulting problems surrounding the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, which regulates the flow of goods between the European Union and the United Kingdom. To the horror of the unions, a trade border was established at sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of Great Britain after Brexit.

In the run-up to the election, the DUP is regularly asked if the parties will cooperate in the government under Sinn Féin. The party determined that the issues surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol should be resolved first.

urgent matter

And with that, the formation of a coalition in Northern Ireland’s parliament is also a pressing issue for negotiations between the UK government and the European Union. Because the UK government could come under more pressure to tinker with the Brexit deal with Brussels.

For example, Northern Ireland’s election results can have far-reaching consequences; not only for Ireland and the United Kingdom, but also for Brussels and the European Union.