For the first time since Northern Ireland was founded as a British province on the Irish island, the pro-Irish nationalists of the Xin Payne Party managed to win the largest number of seats in the local parliament.
This is a real earthquake, even if the chances of realizing the party's agenda to unite with Dublin are nil in the foreseeable future.
The immediate victory means the appointment of a prime minister to advance the union's agenda, but at the same time it could upset the delicate balance between Protestants who want to stay in Britain and pro-Irish Catholics.
As you may recall, since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, Northern Ireland has a special status in the UK and the division of power is also done equally between the parties.
This is in exchange for the terrorist organizations laying down their arms.
Shin Payne, who was the political arm of the Irish terrorist organization IRA, has over the years become a legitimate party in the British public, and now seems to be reaping the rewards.
"Today is a day that represents the significant moment of change. It is a defining moment for our politics and our people," said Northern Ireland's Shin Payne leader Michelle O'Neill.
She promised a "fair debate" on the issue of union with Ireland, which is a declared goal of the party.
On a practical level, unification with Ireland could only be done through a referendum, and only the Parliament in London has the authority to order such.
If such a referendum is in Northern Ireland and as to the parts of Ireland that support the union, it will be possible to unite, but as stated it is a long-term process that is not sure to get the approval of the UK, which wants to preserve Northern Ireland as part.
Among other things, the success of the Nationalist Party lies in the fact that the largest party of supporters of staying in Britain, the DUP, has not been able to supply the goods in the economic field.
Among other things, voters were angry that they had allowed the UK to sign a retirement agreement from the EU that excludes Northern Ireland and puts it effectively as a separate part of the kingdom in the economic sphere.
Shin Payne, despite the vision to unite with Ireland, has focused on issues that are important to voters: the cost of living, health insurance and more.
Therefore, it is possible that the real meaning of the election is precisely the lack of ideological voting, and the message of the voter that he is interested first and foremost in taking care of his economic well-being.
"The most important thing Shin Payne wanted to convey to voters was that she was interested in taking a position in the government, and residents responded to that request," a researcher at Queens University in Belfast told the New York Times.
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