DUP- ST Andrews own goal-Chickens coming home to roost
Under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement the DUP would have had the responsibility of appointing the First Minister. This responsibility was given to the largest party from the largest designation. This would have been the DUP as the largest unionist party.
Despite all the media attention given to Sinn Fein and talk of border polls the actual result is NO CHANGE in the constitutional position. Before the election MLAs designating Unionist exceeded those delignating nationalist by one while after the election those designating unionists exceeded the nationalists by two. The unionist majority remains and under the Belfast/GFA Agreement the Unionist designation would have appointed the First Minister.
However, as an act of political opportunism the DUP persuaded the government to change the responsibility for appointing the First Minister from the largest designation to the largest party and this was included in the St Andrews Agreement. So, after this election, the appointment will lie with Sinn Fein and not the DUP as it would have under the GFA
This change has been successful at every election since 2007 the DUP campaigned on the slogan “Vote DUP or you will get a Sinn Fein First Minister”. This has been highly successful despite the DUP scandals and incompetence tens of thousands of reluctant unionists have held their noses and voted DUP.
However, this time it has failed as unionists have rejected the DUPs appeal and spread their votes among other unionist parties making Sinn Fein the single largest party. Chickens have come home to roost. The DUP have shot themselves in the foot. Sinn Fein will appoint the First Minister even though most MLAs are unionist, and the unionists received the most votes in the election. These facts are ignored by many commentators who are imaging a profound change in support for the constitutional position of Northern Ireland.
This is not the case. The momentous change is the support for those who designate as “others” and who do not take sides on the constitutional position. There has been a significant increase in the moderate middle” Alliance” but as a former “other” a Green Party MLA I am saddened by the temporary demise of the Green Party.