BELFAST (AP/RTR) – The British government has yet to call new elections in Northern Ireland. London has given it at least six weeks to resolve the issue of forming a new government. The political crisis is unlikely to end until there is a new agreement with the European Union on the status of Northern Ireland.

The UK minister in charge Chris Heaton-Harris has delayed the deadline for holding new elections by six weeks, with the option of another six weeks. As a result, the last date to form a new government is January 19. Only then will a twelve-week period begin in which new elections are actually to be held.

Northern Ireland has been in political turmoil since February when the DUP union left government. The party has refused to cooperate with the new council due to dissatisfaction with the Brexit agreement, even after last May’s elections. The pro-Irish Sinn Féin was then the largest for the first time, but needed the DUP for a coalition.

Deadline expired

After the election, the parties had 24 weeks to reach an agreement, but to no avail. That’s why Heaton-Harris announced that he would do his legal job and call new elections. But in Northern Ireland, one wonders if it will resolve the impasse. The DUP wants the problems with Brexit resolved, not voters to talk anymore. Moreover, according to opinion polls, the result is almost no different from the previous one.

Hence, it appears that the minister pushed back the deadline to give the UK and the EU more time to sort out the situation in Northern Ireland. ​​​ ​Catholics in the country do not want a hard border with Ireland, which is still part of the EU, while Protestants do not want to be isolated from Great Britain. London and Brussels have been negotiating this issue for some time.